Damned Since Birth
by blueberryblueberry
Summary: Rin is sick, his trips to the hospital caused the Vatican to discover him before his seal was broken. Shiro Fujimoto and Mephisto Pheles are put on trial while Rin and Yukio are confined in a cell. Warnings: AU, graphic, experiments, plot's a bit dark, crappy writing, contains manga characters and a few plots.
1. A Tragic Future Awaits

**Chapter 1: A Tragic Future Awaits**

_CHAPTER WARNINGS: Blood, A Doctor giving a vague (false) diagnosis._

The phone rang inside the monastery, a clergy picked it up and answered. A muffled conversation began and it ended abruptly, violent steps followed and the door to the priest's office opened with a loud bang.

"Father Fujimoto, its Rin!" the clergyman shouted, still at the door frame, worry plastered all over his face.

Fujimoto groaned, expecting another visit to his son's school "What did he do this time, Nagatomo?"

Nagatomo's worry didn't disappear and Fujimoto now noticed how serious the clergyman was, "He collapsed just now, and the teacher's sent him to the hospital."

The chair Fujimoto was sitting on creaked loudly as he stood up, the stuff on his table rattled. The news shocking him still and scared him. It was the hospital, not the infirmary, and this was _serious. _Without wasting time, Fujimoto dragged Nagatomo with him and asked the other clergymen to get Yukio from school.

Both Fujimoto and Nagatomo ran to the emergency room, anxiously dodging the hordes of patients and visitors inside until they reached the information desk and asked where his son was. While the nurse went to look, both men were tensely waiting for her return, it didn't help that they were in the emergency room too.

"Are you Rin Okumura's guardians?" A different nurse greeted them while the previous nurse returned to the information desk, she led the two to Rin's room. Standing outside the room, the door hanging opened, Fujimoto was stopped by the doctor while Nagatomo continued to walk inside and sat beside the chair near the hospital bed where the small child, paler than normal, Rin, was sleeping on.

"Sir Fujimoto?" The Doctor remembered the name, he was old, around his sixties with white hair, "You're his guardian?"

Shiro eyes the name tag the doctor had on his coat. "You know me?"

"Ah sorry, I forgot to introduce myself, I'm Doctor Akari, I'm looking over Rin. And…I got your name from him, so I assumed you are him." Akari told him. Shiro had doubts on how the doctor answered, the way he called him was as if he knew him before. "Come with me, will talk somewhere private."

Akari sat on a bench, Shiro sat across him so they were facing each other,

"So what's wrong with my son?"

"Hmm." Akari hummed, thinking of a way to easily explain to Shiro what was happening to Rin, "Rin's immune cells are reacting poorly. They are not working properly and are attacking each other, which resulted in him collapsing earlier. Fortunately for the child, the cells that showed these anomalies were few from the blood samples I tested _but_…"

"…But?" Shiro frowned.

"But judging from the results, as he grows older, the more these abnormal cells show up and the worse the symptoms will become. I diagnosed him with Immune system disorder and I'll prescribe him with medicine that will help slow down the attacks, but he'll be susceptible to getting sick so I suggest that he won't overexert himself and spend less time in populated areas."

"What about school? The other students?"

"It's alright as long as he takes the medicine and not overexert his self." Dr. Akari further explained in much more detail about the meds Rin was supposed to take on a scheduled basis.

Shiro thanked the doctor and returned to Rin's room. He found his seven-year-old son and Nagatomo chatting, with Rin smiling as if nothing happened. From there he explained to Rin that he's not allowed to fight anymore and to take more care of himself.

* * *

A little Yukio cried, sitting on the ground after three of his bullies from the other section pushed him down and called him names. They were jealous of the few academic achievements he received from school and knew this kind of act would happen to him eventually, it wasn't his fault that he was just the type who wanted to study, who _hungered_ for knowledge not for pride but for his future. He too knew that he doesn't have the strength like his brother to fight back.

One of the boys shouted at him, blaming him about his mother comparing him with them, then the other one shoved an accusing finger to his chest, Yukio winced at the pain. He wanted to stand up, he tried to stand up and run away, back to the classroom and away from the playground, but a few students were starting to gather around them already.

And then he saw a monster, his Dad called them demons, the size of an adult dog near the school building's entrance, watching him intently, he recalled that the demons feast on a human's fear. And right now, he could be the demon's snack once he gets near it, he closed his eyes, hoping that some of the students called a teacher when a shout broke him from his thoughts, then someone tumbling on the ground next to him.

"It's the demon! Run!"

Yukio opened his eyes and saw Rin grabbing the remaining bully in front of him by the collar of his shirt despite their difference in size and threw him forward, sending the unfortunate kid to the ground too like the others. This also caused the accumulating crowd to disappear. Rin was huffing so much from the effort and marched towards his twin, pulling him up to a stand.

"Are you okay, Yuki?" Rin asked between gasps.

Yukio nodded and he saw something was wrong with his older twin, why was he heaving so much when all he did was just push the bullies, another thing, he _pushed_ them, not punch them like he usually did. Yukio thought that maybe Rin learned his lesson that fighting with his fists isn't always the answer, but that didn't explain why Rin was trembling. Why was he trembling? From anger? From Fear?

"Nii-san, I'm okay, but what about you?" Yuki patted off the dust from his uniform and grabbed Rin's shoulders, he then felt Rin's weight leaning towards him.

"Ye-yeah, I just feel a little tired." Rin laughed it off, the weight Yukio felt from him disappeared as Rin suppressed the trembling and glared at the retreating bullies.

"He's a monster, we need to stay away from him!" One of the kids shouted.

As Rin saw the bullies scrambling away, he tried to calm down, not knowing if it would help ease the growing fatigue he felt on his limbs. He was just told the other day that he should avoid fighting and doing stuff that required a lot of energy. But all he did was defend his younger twin, what he did isn't even called a fight, he just _pushed_ them away and that took a toll on him, the growing fatigue not going away, and he dreaded what he was feeling.

_Weak_.

Weak, that word hit Rin hard, how could he protect Yukio now if he was going to be like this?

"Come on, Yuki." Rin smiled, forcing his body not to fall as he did before, he did not want to wake up at the hospital again. He grabbed Yukio's hand and took their bags that were sitting on the ground and ran out of the school.

Once they reached a few steps away from the school gates, Rin couldn't take the exhaustion he kept suppressing anymore, he fell on his knees and the bags clattered on the ground beside him as he forced his arms to support him.

"Nii- Nii-san! Rin! What's wrong!?" Yukio dashed in front of Rin and helped him to sit upright, kneeling on the ground across him. Yukio knew something was wrong and he connected what went with Rin and the hospital days ago. He was sick. His strong and brash brother was sick.

"Sorry Yuki, I made you worry, I'm just a little tired," Rin said with half-lidded eyes. "Don't tell the teachers, I don't wanna go to the hospital again, let's go home now." Rin, using all the strength he could muster, pushed the ground to stand up only to return buckling down, his head lulling from the force.

"…Rin?" Yukio gaped, eyes widening as he observed his brother's unmoving body leaning over his own. When he felt Rin's breathing, it was unusually uneven but he felt relieved, it looks like he was sleeping.

A man walking down the same street asked them if they were alright, Yukio nodded and asked shyly if he could help put Rin on his back.

"Tha-thank you, sir." Yukio mustered his courage to not shy away rudely from the stranger, the man smiled back at him while bidding them goodbye. Yukio carried Rin on his back until they reach the monastery. He was glad Rin wasn't as heavy as he thought.

* * *

Shiro ran towards the Church's doors, taking in the appearance of his seven-year-old twins. Yukio's uniform was dirty, especially on his shorts and Rin was asleep, paler than usual and his breathing was ragged, draped over Yukio. Their bags hanging on both sides of Yukio's arms.

Shiro scooped up Rin and carried him like a babe, so Yukio wouldn't have to carry him inside on his own. "What happened? You should have asked a teacher to call me and pick you up."

Yukio looked down in guilt, he then shook his head. "We… we were at the playground when the other kids teased me, and then Nii-san…" eyes starting to water, "…pushed the bullies away, and- and he told me not to tell the teachers, he's sick, right? I heard he was taken to the hospital the other day, what's wrong with Nii-san? He's not like this." Yukio started to cry.

Shiro told him about how Rin shouldn't get involve in fights and make him do exhausting stuff.

"So it was my fault? I'm so sorry, Dad, nii-san!" Yukio cried once again, "I- I couldn't protect myself so Rin protected me instead, I wish I knew so I could just run away even if there was a monster nearby."

"No." Shiro ruffled Yukio's hair with his free arm, "It's not your fault, Yukio, you didn't know, you know how stubborn Rin is, he wanted to protect you and that's what big brothers do. Now, why don't we get inside and get you both cleaned." Yukio nodded and followed Shiro inside the bathroom.

* * *

It was the seventh time Rin had collapsed since his first trip to the hospital, Akari, Rin's doctor from the regular hospital told him that he had an Immune system disorder and will cause Rin to be more susceptible to illness and will experience muscle weakening and fainting. Shiro brooded over the fact that Rin, or even Yukio, wouldn't contract any major diseases due to their biological history.

His visit to his old friend didn't help. "I've pulled out every document saved about their mother and she had no history of any kind of diseases." Mephisto spoke from his office chair, one finger pointing up and a trickle of his power flowing out, creating a hologram-like star system around his office. His eyes turned glossy as he watched the stars around them.

Shiro calmed at the scenery, its as if they were in space. The only problem is that this was Mephisto's power, his power to rule over _Time_. Mephisto explained to him before, every star that shined brighter than the others were one destiny, and a constellation, one timeline.

Shiro watched Mephisto walked over a corner and then stared at one dimly lit star, barely glowing. "Oh dear, this is interesting." Shiro did not feel good whenever Mephisto says something that interests him.

They both watched as that dimly lit star exploded around them, bright lights blinding Shiro's vision. He blocked the lights using his hands and saw Mephisto frown, which was not a good sign.

"What is it?" Shiro asked, the lights now tolerable, put his hand down and saw a vast constellation of stars connected by thin ribbons of lights, branching out endlessly, each branch another grows out. "What does that mean?"

"It's the current timeline for little Rin's. It's quite hard to understand it though, with this many branches, it's impossible to figure out which will happen. Some are even hidden by a power stronger than mine."

_'stronger than mine' _Shiro pondered over, there were only two known demons powerful than Mephisto, "Is it Lucifer's? or Satan?"

Mephisto shrugged, he then gestured his right arm towards Shiro and a star, brighter than the rest, had passed through him from behind, "This is Yukio's," he flicked up his fingers and another set of bright lights slithered, some intertwined with that of Rin's timeline, some branches falling apart, returning to dust, and regrew another branch. Some branches connected with the lights on Rin's and some didn't but grew more nonetheless. "Another interesting change!"

"Yukio's? What changed?"

"Oh, its nothing major." Mephisto said, but the falling branches from Yukio's told him it was.

"What's happening?"

"He just made a decision causing changes to his timeline." Mephisto then clapped his hands, the stars and space fading out, returning them to his office. "No use trying to figure out what will happen in the future, their decisions are still raw, and tracing up all possible futures is straining. I must say, little Rin's timeline was big, as big as Yukio's, meaning he will live longer than what you're worried about, he'll just suffer… a lot, that's all."

Shiro bid the demon thanks and a goodbye, returning home to his office, he flopped down on his chair, obviously not pleased with the news. His son was still going to suffer from this illness he got. It was getting late too, he glanced at the wall clock, 11:45 pm. He was ready to go to bed when the door to his office creaked open, Yukio slid in, eyes tired but it flashed a determined gaze.

"Yukio, what's wrong? Why aren't you in bed yet? It's pretty late."

"Dad." Yukio didn't move from the door, "About the training?"

"Yes?" Shiro coaxed him to continue.

"I want to do it, but…I also want to stay by Nii-san to help him, can we-umm can we postpone it? I can still study some. Rin was crying and…and he said that everything hurt and he was so tired-" Yukio began to sob, "so tired that he doesn't wanna wake up anymore. Daaad, I don't wanna lose nii-san!"

Shiro slid off his chair then ran towards his wailing son, he kneeled down to his level, comforting him in a tight hug. "Rin's not going anywhere, Yukio. He's strong, he can fight whatever diseases he has. And about your training, if you don't want to, I can still help you study and be ready when you want to start. Okay?"

Yukio sniffed, the sound of his sobs quieting, he nodded against his father's chest.

Shiro pulled out a necklace from his pocket, it had a thin silver string and a blue circular gem dangling from it. He put it on Yukio's neck. "Wear this, it's a charm so that low-level demons won't be able to get near you. That will protect you."

Yukio pulled away from Shiro's embrace to fiddle with the necklace, "Thanks, Dad." He rubbed away the remaining tears and beamed at him.

* * *

"Akari-san, what is that?"

Akari glanced at his visitor, news of his return to his old office reached his former colleagues "Blood samples from a child."

"Oh. Why are you testing it here? Can't you do that at your hospital?" his visitor asked while playing with the other equipment on the table, he saw the readings and peaked his interests, "Ah, the child's part-demon, wait- those readings, they look similar to a _rejection_."

Akari nodded, walking back to a microscope where he placed a drop of blood, after a minute he returned to his seat, "A rejection state can only happen during a possession, where the host body rejects the demon because it's either too weak or too powerful, but on his blood, it's still present, and the child wasn't even possessed. Have a look."

The man walked around Akari and to the microscope, "That's rare. It looks like his body is rejecting his demon side."

"Or human side."

"So did you explain it to the child's parents?"

"No, I gave them a regular diagnosis, I'd like to examine the child more." Akari leaned back on his chair, thinking.

"That's a bit cruel, don't you think? The child is gonna suffer, hey, is the parent a demon?"

"It's Fujimoto."

"What!? The Paladin Shiro Fujimoto? That Fujimoto? He had a child with a demon?"

"No, he adopted him…them, they're twins. I asked him if I could check the other child too, he's gonna bring them both on next week's appointment. And it's not like I'm leaving the child to suffer, I'll be giving him a demon cell reducer."

"Are you allowed to do that? I mean you're already retired."

"Of course, Exorcists' duties don't just end with missions. Oh, and keep this a secret from the Order."

_Author's Notes:_

_At first, I just wanted to write a sick fic, then boom!, It expanded and now has its own plot which converges to and diverges from the manga. It'll be using a lot of manga plots for this._


	2. Partially Awakening

**Chapter 2: Partially Awakening**

_CHAPTER WARNINGS: Blood, Graphic description of Rin's episodes_

"You didn't have to come, Yukio, aren't you supposed to prepare for school?" Rin said to his twin, hands fiddling the hospital bed sheet he was lying on, guilt slowly building up inside of him. Barely making eye contact at the disappointed look Yukio was giving him beside the bed who just remained quiet. "Uhm… they were killing the birds Yukio, and they were laughing, they needed to be taught a lesson…" eyes glancing at the sides eagerly waiting for a reply.

Yukio sighed loudly, he lifted his head back and glared at Rin. "How many times must we tell you, you can't get into fights anymore, Nii-san!"

"You all worry too much, they're just scratches."

"And what about that episode you did at the gates!?"

"I just tripped."

"You were coughing blood!"

"Because I tripped!"

"You collapsed Nii-san! The doctor clearly said to avoid exerting your body too much!"

"I have unusual strength Yukio, the doctor never mention how much I can put my body to the extent."

"But it doesn't mean you have to actually test it out, you could've died!"

A cough pulled the twin's attention to the person on the door, they were greeted by an old doctor and a nurse behind him with Shiro Fujimoto in tow.

They greeted the doctor and Shiro sat at the chair near the wall.

"Where's Dr. Akari?" Yukio asked, concerned at why his twin's original doctor changed.

The current doctor explained. "Dr. Akari has been transferred to another hospital, I'll be taking over him and his patients, which includes you, Rin-kun. I am Dr. Kosaku Kiku, I'd like to confirm the information I got from Dr. Akari so we could start with formally checking you."

Rin nodded and the nurse gave his patient record to the doctor.

"You were a healthy child when you were six, then by the age of seven, you showed symptoms of nausea, muscle fatigue, followed by fainting and at rare moments, coughing blood. As you grew older, your symptoms worsened." Dr. Kosaku waited for Rin to confirm it, "You have twenty-two cases where you were bed-ridden for days in the hospital. Dr. Akari diagnosed you with, in general terms, Immune system disorder?"

"Yeah, that's what he said, but he didn't tell me what kind." Rin sat up on the bed, swinging his legs to the side.

"Very well, that's all, thank you for answering."

"Can I get out now?"

"No. We're not done yet. You just showed the symptoms a while ago and were unconscious for three hours so you're staying there."

"But I feel fine now." Rin complained, and he wasn't lying, he feels totally fine after a few minutes of rest as if nothing happened. That's how his abnormal body works, one second his writhing in pain, coughing blood, the next he felt fine as if nothing happened.

"Mr. Fujimoto, come with me."

"Alright." Shiro stood up then went over to Rin, putting a hand on both the twin's head. "Rin stay here. Yukio, watch him so he won't escape."

The three left the room.

* * *

Doctor Kosaku led Shiro Fujimoto towards his office and the nurse left them alone.

"Please, take a seat, Mr. Fujimoto."

"Just call me Shiro, Kosaku. So what is it?" Shiro casually asked.

"Shiro, I don't know what _exactly_ is causing him like that, I checked the blood and tissue samples Dr. Akari did on him, the cells of his body are attacking each other, this includes his tissues, his immune cells and on a rare case his nerves, it's as if his own body is treating itself as an enemy. Dr. Akari concluded it was an Immune system disorder, I don't think it is, the attacks occur when he exerts energy more than normal and after that, his cells get regenerated immediately, I suspect it has something to do with him being part-demon, if not for that I would have diagnosed him for a Terminal disease."

"Yeah, I suspect that too. But Yukio doesn't seem to be that way."

"Dr. Akari did a few tests on him as well, Yukio's were normal. It must be because the younger twin didn't inherit much of their demonic heritage."

"Yeah, it was Rin who inherited the demon's power."

"You really don't know who they are related to? It might make things easier, there might be existing information about it at the Knights of the True Cross Library, I may be a retired Exorcist, but I still have access to it."

Shiro remained quiet. Of course, he knew who, but he can't just blurt it out to anyone, even to a retired Exorcist. He was biting the inside of his cheek, "No. I have no idea. When Rin was born, he had the common demon features, fangs – pointy ears, I sealed his demon side, so he can grow up a normal human, like his brother."

Kosaku smiled at him.

"What?"

"Its ironic, the Paladin, adopting half-demons."

"Well, I can't just leave them, they were too innocent to abandon you know, I bet you'd do the same If you were me."

"Do they even know?"

"The younger knows, the older, nah. I don't want him to delve into the world of demons."

"Oh, does that mean the younger can see _them_?"

"Yeah, he's studying to become an Exorcist, he'll be attending True Cross Academy next week."

"How about the older? He can't see demons?"

"No. And I want him to stay that way so he'll have a normal life."

"Aww, such a caring papa! Those lucky kids." Kosaku laughed, teasing Shiro of how a great father he was. "So I take it you kept this a secret from _everyone_?"

"It's better that way, I don't want demons who're hell-bent on killing me to know I have kids running around."

Then there was a loud crash from the outside of the office and people screaming. The office doors opened revealing Yukio, his glasses nearly falling off, troubled and gasping for air. "Dad! A demon took Rin, it took him to the roof! "

Shiro stood up, throwing a gun at Yukio from his belt and Kosaku grabbed a prayer bead from one of his cabinets. Yukio leads them towards the stairs and up to the rooftop.

* * *

Shiro was worried, he already felt Rin's demonic presence growing stronger when he left the monastery but ignored it when Rin returned and then collapsed at the gate. He knew a demon would be able to find him now and he regretted how careless he was. The three reached the rooftop of the hospital but Shiro grabbed Yukio back inside then closed the door shut, enchanting it with a spell so it stays locked. Yukio banged the door and asked why, "Be a lookout for me Yukio!"

"Dad! I can fight too, I already got a license!" _(AN: for the gun, not the Exorcist license.)_

Ignoring the pleas of his son, the two followed the presence of the demon, it was hiding behind one of the hospital generators.

"Why did you leave him?" Kosaku asked, the prayer beads clattering from his hands.

"It's safer to keep him away- "

"-from the secret? It looks to me that what you're hiding from them might be related to this?"

Shiro ignored his musings and he quieted, they can hear Rin's and the demon's conversation getting louder as soon as they strode towards the building's electricity generators.

_"Hahaha! That hurt! Nice punch for someone who's sick."_

_"G-get off me!"_

They heard a struggle and then a violent cough from Rin, running faster towards them and taking a turn at the corner they saw the demon grabbing Rin by his hair who was sprawled on the floor. The demon, oblivious of their presence, brought out a pocket knife and pointed it towards Rin. Shiro recognized immediately the signs of possession on the unfortunate host, "Kosaku can you chant the verse for possession? I'll-"

Then what Shiro feared the most happened, blue flames enveloped Rin, his power was leaking out of its seal, the demon flinched back but Rin was already lying on the floor coughing blood out, and it was _worse_ than his previous episodes.

The demon saw the flames and spoke, "I was right. That blue fire is-" before he could finish the sentence, Shiro shot him with a pistol, careful not to kill the host he was possessing.

"Kosaku the verse!" Shiro reminded him and he glared back not liking the bossy attitude, he ignored that and ran towards the gasping Rin, the flames receding to his body as he slowly loses consciousness.

"_There is evil in their hearts_" Kosaku started and Shiro chorused with him as he kneeled beside Rin over to check on him. He already fainted from the stress.

"Damn you, Exorcists!" the demon cursed as he was painfully being pushed out of his host.

"_O Lord, reward them according to their evil deeds. Repay the works of their hands. Avenge thyself upon them. Strike them down so they never rise again_"

"_Blessed be the lord_." A _third_ voice joined them, Shiro watched the other person walking towards them from behind Kosaku, panic and worry consumed him, this person definitely saw the blue flames.

The third person was a blonde man, wearing a white exorcist uniform and a large sword hanging from his hip. He walked towards the possessed host who was ready to attack him. "My prayer has been answered." He grabbed the host's arm lunging towards him and flipped him back, slamming the body down to the ground. "The Lord is my helper and my shield! Thou shalt be destroyed!" Black smoke oozed out of the poor host, the demonic traits disappeared, leaving him unconscious and battered on the ground.

"Arthur. What are you doing here?" Shiro asked warily as Kosaku examined the host and placed the prayer beads on him to avoid another possession.

Kosaku shuffled behind Shiro, totally ignoring their uninvited guest, he was checking Rin for any other injuries.

"Shiro. I'll leave you two here, I'll take Rin back to his room. " Kosaku walked forward, carrying a sickly pale Rin on his arms but a blade blocked his path. "Sir Arthur, please step aside."

"You do understand what those blue flames mean, doctor? I have received orders from the Grigori, to investigate a secret plot by Shiro Fujimoto and Mephisto Pheles, if it has anything related to _Satan_, then it shall be _exterminated_. " Arthur lifted the blade and hovered it at Rin's neck, Shiro stood up and grabbed Arthur's hand and pushed it down so that Kosaku can leave, Angel didn't resist. Kosaku walked back and he reached the door, he undid the enchantment and it opened, Yukio jumping out of it.

"Come with me, Yukio." They heard Kosaku. Yukio peeked at the two remaining figure on the roof, Shiro noticed and he signaled him to leave, so he did.

"Fujimoto, this is an act of high treason to the Order."

"I _know_. But I'm not gonna let you _kill_ that child." Shiro's free hand hovered at the pistol he was carrying, deciding whether to draw it and make things worse, now that Arthur knows, the Grigori must have already known, but how. "How did you know?"

Arthur smirked. "Dr. Akari. You should've been more cautious around him, he was once an exorcist researcher working for the K.R.C. Laboratory, he had doubts about the children you were raising. You were already suspected since the Blue Night. So why, a Paladin like you is raising the son of Satan. Do you know how dangerous this is? You could lose your title."

"Dangerous?" Shiro laughed at him, calling Rin dangerous after that episode. "Dangerous in what way, Arthur? He can't _see_ demons, heck, his body can't even _fight_."

Arthur seemed to understand what the man meant as his eyes went soft "I'm sorry but I must report this to the Grigori, Fujimoto. Don't even try to escape, later, Exorcists will come to pick you up, along with the children and Sir Pheles."

Arthur turned around, and walked back towards the door, bringing out a Key, he opened the door and disappeared. Shiro stood there for a few more minutes, thinking of how to deal with this problem. The secret was out, and he can't escape with the Order having eyes almost everywhere. There was only one way left and it would mean endangering the lives of his two sons, he pulled out his phone and called a _friend_.

**KOSAKU'S POV**

_'What was Shiro thinking!?' _I walked down the stairs, reaching the floor I asked a nearby nurse to get a gurney for Rin. His brother was behind me, I could feel the worry from his stares, he must be eager to know what happened. _'Those blue flames….'_ And to think Shiro kept it a secret even from them. I stood there, my mind still stuck in my thoughts.

_'…if it has anything related to Satan…'_ Arthur told them that, they were connected to Satan. '_These kids were fifteen, the blue night happened about sixteen years ago.'_ As I waited for the nurse, I observed the twins, Rin was still unconscious, paler and there were traces of blood on his lips. The other one, Yukio, trying to remain calm but his involuntary movement shows how worried he was as he watched his twin on my arms. _'How are they related? Was there more to the Blue Night than just the global combustion of exorcists? '_I pondered on those thoughts, _'half-demons…It can't be-'_

The wheels of the gurney pulled me out of my thoughts and I put Rin down on it, examining him for physical wounds. I told the nurse that Rin will be transferred to Room 421 since the room next to the previous one was thrashed by the demon when Rin was dragged out of it.

Pushing Rin inside, I let the nurse do the work, and went to a nearby chair to clear my mind. The nurse and Yukio lifted Rin to the bed, while another nurse was hovering around Rin to clean up the traces of blood near his mouth. When the nurses left the room, I spoke to Yukio, who was starting to look impatient, I began to explain. "Yes, I'm an exorcist, Yukio. Though I am already retired as you can see how old I am."

"What happened to the demon? And the host, Doctor?" he asked.

I forgot about the host, oh well I'll just call for a nurse to fetch him "It was exorcised, and we left the host there, just forget about him."

"And Dad?"

I wondered if he saw Arthur back there, "Cleaning up the mess we made." I smiled at him, and it made the kid calmer. I stood up and left the room.

**THIRD PERSON'S POV**

_Heavy_.

Rin's body felt heavy. It wasn't like his previous after-episodes where he feels normal after collapsing, his average recuperating time was three hours and at worse cases, a whole day, this time his body was really tired and he could still feel the lingering pain inside his chest, his lungs, and his limbs felt like hot needles were poking from inside. He opened his eyes and he saw that he was back in the hospital room, an IV stand was next to his bed and he groaned, _'Again? I just collapsed one time…'_ He glanced to the other side but no one was there inside the room. It was quiet, only the noise of the air conditioning system filled the room. Then he remembered, that person he fought before, his name was Shiratori Reiji but with horns and tails, dragged him out of his room and to the roof and pointed a blade at him, then blue flames appeared. His memory ended there.

He looked back up the white ceiling, attempting to move his arms. His head was starting to ache again, another pain, then he felt something warm flow above his lip.

_Blood_.

He craned his neck back to the side where the IV stand was and he saw a box of tissue near the table beside his bed. The blood from his nose still flowing. With all his strength he lifted his arm and reached out towards the box of tissue paper.

_'What the? Why am I so tired?'_

His eyes were starting to close, his arm barely leaving the edge of the bed when his eyes gave in. His mind was barely awake when he heard the door creak open and a lot of footsteps came shuffling in. His fatigue started to block out the noise, then sleep overcame him.

Dr. Kosaku was accompanied by five exorcists and one Arc Knight inside the room.

"Is this him?" The Arc Knight asked, he was old, about the same age as Kosaku, and adjusted the monocle he was wearing on his left eye as he hovered around the patient, while the five Exorcists stood on guard. Dr. Kosaku frowned at how they were treating the patient as if they were gonna get attacked by him. "Oh dear, Dr. Kosaku, there is blood coming from his nose."

Kosaku instantly strode towards Rin, pulling the kid's head to face him. "What are you going to do to him, Dr. Dragulesc?" he asked while he cleaned the blood off and set the pillow lower so that Rin's head would tilt up and stop the bleeding. Kosaku couldn't help but feel worried and pity for his patient, whatever was going to happen to him next.

_Authors Notes:_

_ Soooo, major personality change on Yukio, he is still quiet and has the air of seriousness around him but he sure won't end up like his canon self and OH! Look at that, Yukio doesn't know what demon they're related to, hahahaha wonder how things turn out?_


	3. Trials and Truths

**Chapter 3: Trials and Truths**

_CHAPTER WARNINGS: Blood, Graphic description of Rin's episodes, lame writing for how a trial works…_

"The court will now hear the case of Shiro Fujimoto, Paladin, and Mephisto Pheles, Chief of the Japan Branch of the Knights of the True Cross! Your interrogators will be me, Timothee Timowan, Chief Justice of the Order's Court of Law along with -" Timowan announced at his position inside the Opera Courthouse of the Vatican.

"Senior Exorcist, Second Class, Arthur Auguste Angel," Arthur raised his hand.

"Arc Knight, Drac Dragulesc," Dragulesc bowed and stood beside Arthur.

"And the Grigori will adjudicate!" Timowan continued.

The courthouse was filled with exorcist branch heads from around the globe, there were the accused who were standing at the middle podium, the witness, Dr. Kosaku who stood behind the two Arc Knights, and a little audience from the Angelic Legion.

"Sir Fujimoto, sixteen years ago you were given the orders to expel the child of Satan carried by Junior Exorcist Second Class Yuri Egin." Timowan then switched his attention to Mephisto, " Sir Pheles, are the reports you gave contained false information? "

"Yes." Mephisto, in a white and purple suit, sang beside Shiro who was still in his priest uniform. "She gave birth to fraternal twins, one did not inherit Satan's power. The one _with_ power would have become a demon, but I sealed his demonic heart within the Koma sword." Mephisto continued.

"Then I raised him in secret until he was ready to _assume_ power." Shiro added.

There were gasps from the crowd. "Why?" One of the Grigori asked.

"What is the purpose of this, Sir Pheles? Sir Fujimoto?" The Grigori chorused their questions.

Shiro clenched his teeth in anger, regretting what he was about to say, losing all emotions he smugly told them "To make him a weapon for the _Order_." His hands rolled into fists, guilt trembling him. _'This is what Mephisto and I agreed to.'_

The Grigori went quiet, while Arthur and Dragulesc waited for their turn to speak. Dr. Kosaku noticed how Shiro regretted what he said.

"We're always on the defensive, but having him on our side would greatly aid us, of course, the plan has yet to begin, as the child has not awakened and has health complications. But I assure you, they are not dangerous if you let _us_ handle them." Shiro confessed.

"What are you trying to do, Shiro? You should've kept little Rin's illness a secret." Mephisto whispered at him and then his eyes hovered to Dragulesc, his brows lifted and understood the situation. Shiro continued to ignore him. "Oh, I wonder what the outcome is."

"Explain further." One of the Grigori ordered.

Arthur saw fit to interrupt, "Surely you have not forgotten _what_ the child is. This is a clear plot to overthrow the Order from within, waiting for a chance to strike!"

"Order Arthur!" Timowan shouted back, "Sir Fujimoto, continue."

"The demon child is still unfit to fight due to his _illness _and lacks knowledge of everything concerning his heritage." Shiro chose his words wisely.

"The witness, former Senior Exorcist First Class Dr. Kosaku Kiku, Do you support his claim?" Timowan asked the doctor.

"Yes. I do not have a clear diagnosis, but his body is slowly being _killed_ inside by his own cells. I suspect that this is due to his demon side attacking his own body from within, I wish I could provide further information but I do not have any other knowledge about this regarding half-demon physiology. And it is true, the child has no knowledge of _all of this_ in order to secure a benign upbringing." Kosaku explained.

"Is the demon's power still sealed?" This time Dragulesc asked, "Sir Fujimoto?"

"Yes. He would still assume his human form as long as the seal is not broken." Shiro answered.

Dragulesc hummed, satisfied with that small information. "I heard that the child has no knowledge of his heritage, is this also true Fujimoto?"

"Yes, we – " Mephisto butt in, pointing his self and then Shiro, " and Shiro made a bet, you see. If the child stays human, he can raise him, but once the demon inside him awakens, the children's life is mine to take. But as you can see the child is still _human_."

"So he is not a threat then?" Dragulesc confirmed. "I believe this to be a great opportunity to further understand demons especially rare cases such as Satan's spawn."

The Grigori knew what Dragulesc meant, Mephisto knew too and he just smiled and enjoyed how Shiro was being emotionally torn inside. Shiro knew what Dragulesc wanted, he wanted information about how Rin's body worked, there was also a chance that Yukio would get involved too, but if he wanted Rin to stay alive, then this the only option he has. To involve Dragulesc, use him to _experiment_ Rin, then use the Grigori to _control_ Dragulesc's actions.

One of the Grigori spoke "Demons are indeed our enemy. Learning from our opponent has always been one of the strategies of the Order. But-"

"Make a wager with me!" Mephisto couldn't contain the excitement, his original plan got thwarted, but this new one might be even more entertaining. His voice echoing inside the courtroom, "Will the child be an asset to our advancements in the fight against demons or be the cause of the Order's fall! Might I add that the child has not awakened yet? Two conditions though, we'll have to wait how this turns out and - " he glanced at Shiro, "-help him overcome his illness."

There were whispers between the Grigori members. "This is an unprecedented situation."

"Sir Pheles and Sir Fujimoto remain under charges. However, due to Sir Pheles' 200 years of service and Sir Fujimoto's accomplishments, we both owe these two a measure of trust." One of the Grigori stated.

"Let us put it to a Majority Vote. Whether we shall accept his wager. The conditions are: both the Twins will be examined by Dr. Dragulesc, if the human one, as claimed by Sir Pheles is proven to be not a threat, then he shall be released, as for the demon one, he shall be_ confined_ for now until an initial examination is performed then we can decide what to do with the child, Sir Fujimoto will remain as the Paladin but _will_ be transferred here at the Vatican, the children will be placed under Sir Pheles' care and be responsible for educating them about demons and exorcists but will be heavily monitored..."

* * *

Somewhere at the depths of the Knights of the True Cross HQ, outside the confinement cell of the Okumura Twins, Vatican.

"…as for Dr. Dragulesc's examinations, it will be monitored and shall stay _civilized._"

Shiro recalled the last condition the Grigori set, _'civilized_', the word echoed in his mind, he felt a little relieved that they won't be treated as animals, but dread still flooded his mind, Dr. Dragulesc is the head of the Anti-Demon Pharmacology Research and Anti-Demon Technology Production, conducting experiments on demons and people with demonic blood are under his jurisdiction. Shiro prayed that his sons wouldn't have to suffer too much. Shiro rubbed his chest where the key for the Koma sword hanged over his person._ 'This sword shall never be drawn.'_

He watched the glass window of the Cell, the inside was sanitary, it had a conditioning system too, at least they weren't treated as prisoners, there were two beds, one was where Rin was still sleeping, the IV drip still attached to his arm, while Yukio was standing across from him, on the other side, staring straight. "He can't see me right?"

"No." A guard beside the door answered.

He saw Mephisto and two others walk to him. The three newcomers joined on watching – observing the twins. A man in a safari hat hummed at the sight, scratching his beard.

"You look disappointed, Lewin. " Shiro squinted his eyes at the man.

"Yeah, I was expecting flaming horns and tails, not- " Lewin looked at Shiro, "-two average looking brats, one's a nerd and one's probably dying."

The other person in their group was a woman in shorts and a bikini bra, but the exorcist uniform draped over her shoulders, "Hey, you there, can ye scram a bit? We're gonna have a private talk, oh and the key." She opened her palm at the guard, waiting for the key. The guard gave it to her and then went away.

Once the guard was far away, the woman tackled Shiro and hit him in the head. "What the hell were ye thinking!? Why'd ya agree to have Dragulesc examine them? That geezer's a creep. And ye got the four-eyed chicken involved too. "

Shiro rubbed the bump on his head, "Nice to meet you too, Shura. I didn't have a choice, my sons are going to get executed just for living not to mention, Rin's sick. So I had to give them another purpose the Grigori can agree to, and Dragulesc is the only one that will bite what we'll offer."

"And what are ye grinning by yerself, Mephisto?" Shura whipped her head towards the other person in the group.

"Hello, Miss Kirigakure." Mephisto greeted at her and then went to stare at the twins. "Nothing, just thinking how our little Rin will fair with this, especially since he has no idea what _this_ is about." Mephisto emphasized the word 'this' referring to the Knights of the True Cross, their adoptive Father a Paladin, and their biological Father the God of Gehenna. He chuckled at the risks it _would_ trigger.

"Oh! Rin is waking up, it's up to you then Shiro." Mephisto patted the man on the shoulder, "I shall take my leave now, call me once something exciting happens." He winked at the group and left.

Inside the cell, Rin shot up sitting on the bed, it surprised Yukio and he ran towards him. "Nii-san! "

Rin blinked a few times, trying to take in the new room they were in, there were no windows, he felt cramped, there was a large mirror at the wall near the door, and he took in the horrible reflection he saw. His clothes were still the same, a red jacket and pants, only it was crumpled, his messy hair, his skin was paler and then the IV drip that was connected to his arm. He frowned at that and tried to remove it on his own. Yukio grabbed Rin's other arm to stop him.

"Relax Yukio, I feel fine now."

"You collapsed."

"Yeah, once."

"Twice!"

"I did?"

"Anyway, where are we?" Rin asked.

Yukio didn't know how to answer, he knew they were at the Vatican, what he doesn't know is why did they had to confine them. And Shiro was nowhere to be found too. Yukio had a bad feeling about this.

"Nii-san, listen, you see-"

Yukio got cut off when the only door to the room swung open. Shiro stood smiling at his two children.

"Dad!"

"Old Man!"

"Why are we here, Dad? Nii-san should still be at the hospital. What's wrong?" Yukio shot questions immediately.

_'Oh, we're not at the hospital?'_ Rin thought as he observed the room again, his eyes landed at the woman that was leaning on the door, another man was behind her. The woman waved at him, Rin awkwardly smiled back at her.

Shiro's smile faltered and he went serious, "Rin, are you alright now? I wanted to talk with both of you."

Rin felt the strain from his Father's words. He knew they were gonna discuss something serious, _'Is it about my health? Did the doctor finally guess how many years I have left?_ _' _Rin tried to make it sound like a joke, but it scared him if that's what it's about.

"Rin, you know I'm an Exorcist right?"

Rin nodded, "Yeah, you drive away imaginary demons, but I know you're just scamming people and talk to them to make them feel better."

Shura bit her lip to stop herself from laughing at the boy's comment.

"Demons are real, Nii-san." It was Yukio, Shiro was glad that Yukio was backing him up. "I'm also studying to be an Exorcist."

Rin gave them skeptical looks "Great. We're turning into a family of scammers?"

Then a wolf-like creature with red glowing eyes entered the room and dove on Rin's bed, Rin got slammed back on his pillow, the wolf baring its fangs inches away from his face, he could feel the weight of the creature on his chest constricting his movement, he was starting to tremble with fear, not only that but his nausea was returning too and his muscles were starting to weaken again from the sudden force.

Two loud gunshots echoed inside the room, Rin flinched at the sound, the wolf creature stopped moving, then blood trickled from its body, but before the body collapses it disappeared, bloodstains were left on his Jacket, almost invisible since he was already wearing the color red.

"Rin, take a deep breath." Shiro said.

Rin didn't even notice he was having trouble breathing, his lungs felt like it was on fire so he tried to calm down but he's body refuses to stop shaking.

"W-what the hell was that!?" Rin finally spoke, wincing at the pain he felt on his chest.

"That was a demon. Although it was my familiar, now thanks to Sir Shiro and your brother, I won't be able to use it again." It was the man standing outside the room, his eyes hidden under his hat.

"Lewin, you didn't have to traumatize the boy!" Shiro shouted back at him, that's when Rin noticed the gun on his Dad's hand, he also saw Yukio, a gun in hand too. Slowly accepting the fact that demons are real and Exorcists are not what he thought they were.

"He'll get used to it anyway, now he believes it. So get ready for the big reveal!" Lewin tried to lighten the mood.

Rin sat back up again, he turned to the side of the bed and let his legs hang on the edge, now he was facing Shiro. He focused his gaze at Shiro, "I don't understand, I never saw anything like that… " His eyes widened, "Old man! That Shiratori guy, he had horns and a tail, then there were these black bugs swarming around him, was that a demon also?"

"That guy was possessed by a demon, those bugs you saw, they're called Coal Tars, they are demons who possess funguses, the lowest type of demons. These demons are from Gehenna, the mirror world of ours, Assiah, Coal tars can be seen almost everywhere."

"Everywhere? But I only saw them on that guy at the hospital."

"That's because you _just_ partially awakened, Rin."

"Partially awakened? What? What does that mean?" Rin looked at Shiro and then to Yukio.

"We are - " Yukio started, his eyes unable to focus on Rin's, "Our birth father was a demon, and our mother was a human."

"But only you had inherited the demon's traits and power while Yukio remained human. We had to seal your power so you could live as a human but as you grow older, so did your power and the seal was weakening, it triggered your demon senses and now you can see demons." Shiro slowly explained and watched how Rin was taking in all the information. Rin remained quiet.

"So Dad, who-what kind of demon was our birth father?" Yukio started his interrogation, he knew something was off when they were escorted by Exorcists and got locked in a confinement cell, "I noticed how the Exorcists were giving us cautious looks while they were escorting us. Half-demons are common in the Order, so why are they so scared? And they locked us inside a confinement cell too, they see us… no, they were looking at Nii-san like he was a monster!"

_'Confinement Cell? Like a monster?'_ Rin chuckled lowly at his current predicament, he gets nicknamed a demon child because of his abnormal strength and temper, then he gets terribly sick which caused his whole life to spiral down, and now he's actually related to one and Exorcists thinks he's dangerous. "…so I really am a demon… a monster in their eyes?" he asked quietly to himself.

Shiro put a hand each on the twin's shoulders, calmly he patted them, "You two were born of a human woman, fathered by a demon. And not just any demon, it's the worst of them all, the King of _Gehenna_, Satan."

"S-satan? " Rin mumbled.

"Wha-Why?" Yukio removed Shiro's hand that was on his shoulder, his voice sounded betrayed, Rin stared at his brother, "Why did you keep this from _me _too?"

"There was no need for you to know, you were dedicated to becoming an exorcist so you can protect your brother, right?"

Yukio nodded slowly, his Dad could've at least trusted him with the truth. It hurt him.

"Hey." Rin whined, "What do you mean _'too', _does this mean it was okay to keep this a secret from me!? That I was an actual monster? A demon!? What people fear!?"

"You're not a monst-"

"You said this was a confinement cell!? Then I might as well be one, and you two must be my guards-"

"Rin, calm down!"

"- and if I get _too_ dangerous, you're going to shoot me too like that demon from before!"

"What!? Nii-san, No! You're-"

"YOU THINK I'M DANGEROUS! AND MAYBE THE ONLY REASON WHY I'M ALIVE IS BECAUSE YOU ENJOY WATCHING A DEMON LIKE ME SUFFER FROM THIS STUPID BODY- "

Shiro slapped Rin and he regretted it later when blood trickled down Rin's nose, "I'm sorry Ri-"

Yukio jumped towards Rin when he began to sway and stopped him from falling down the bed, he grabbed him on the arm and steadied his brother back up and leaned him against his shoulder so he could stay sitting.

Rin was starting to weaken again, his muscles falling heavy but still welcomed the shoulder he was leaning on for support, his head was down and he watched the trickle of blood oozing from his nose fall to his lap. "I hate you both…" he let out bitterly.

Shiro fell to his knees which caught Rin's attention, Yukio's grip hardened on Rin's arm and made him flinch, "Nii-san… how could you say that?" Rin lifted his head up and saw fear and anger on his twin's eyes.

"Oi Shiro! Get a hold of yourself!" Shura shouted from the door, she hesitated to jump in as she saw the signs of possession.

"Get away from me!" Shiro shouted back at Shura as he struggled on the floor.

"Dad! Don't let the demon in! You're stronger than it!" Yukio shouted, not leaving Rin on the bed. "Dad!"

"W-What's happening!? Yukio! Is Dad alright?" Rin shook him worriedly.

"Dad!" Yukio ignored his brother and called Shiro again.

**"YES~ MY SON?"**, Shiro's head snapped up and his eyes glowed, blue and red.

Blood trickled down from Shiro's nose, mouth and eyes as he stood up. Blue flames followed, erupting from his body and scattered around the room. Shura and Lewin jumped away, while the twins were trapped in.

"W-who are you!?" Rin shouted as Yukio dragged him away from the bed and into a corner, the IV stand got incinerated. His legs weakened and he kneeled on the floor, still grabbing on to Yukio's shirt.

"**I AM SATAN. GOD OF GEHENNA AND YOUR TRUE FATHER! BUT YOU CAN CALL ME DAD OR PAPA IF YOU WANT HA HA HA HA!**" Shiro's voice cracked, his red pupils focused on the two, fangs on full display as he grinned "**WELLISN'T THIS A SURPRISE!? I DIDN'T EXPECT THE OTHER ONE WOULD BE HERE! MWA HA HA HA**". He then focused on Rin. "**BUT I HAVE TO SETTLE FOR ONE**."

Yukio pushed Rin back and placed his self in front of him. "You're not going to take him, demon! Dad! I know you're still there! Fight him, please!" Yukio tried to call Shiro back.

"**HA HA HA HA BUT I AM YOUR DAD!**" Satan cackled again and marched towards Yukio. Rin could feel Yukio tremble in fear, he looked up and Satan was now in front of them, Rin lost his grip on Yukio's shirt when Yukio got lifted up by Satan by his collar. Then Yukio was enveloped by the flames.

"NO YUKIO!" Rin cried as Yukio struggled the grip and the flames.

Yukio waited to be burned, but the flames just danced around him, singeing parts of his clothes. It surprised Satan that the boy was unharmed, locking eyes with his, he spoke "**OHH? WHAT'S THIS? You might be useful after all.**" Satan whispered the last one.

Yukio gave him a horrified look but still had the courage to glare at him. "Dad! Come back! I know you can hear me!"

Satan clicked his tongue and threw Yukio to the side, then marched towards Rin and grabbed him by the arm "Let go! Where are you taking me!?" Rin cried and he burst into flames too, eyes widening at the flames, his own flames crawling over his skin.

"**WHAT'S THAT? DID YOU PISS YOURSELF? HA HA HA! TO GEHENNA MY BOY, I NEED YOU TO _LAY CLAIM_ OVER ASSIAH!**"

Yukio pushed himself from the floor and saw Rin bursting in his own flames. "Rin! Call out to Dad! Like any other Demon, he's just being possessed!"

"**SILENCE YOU BRAT!**" Satan sent a barrage of blue flames towards Yukio and everything but himself got burned. "**THIS BODY CAN'T HOLD OUT MUCH LONGER.**" Rin noticed the scabs and burns forming over Shiro's skin.

And before Satan could call a Gehenna Gate and deal a great injury on Shiro's body, a holy grenade exploded inside, bathing the room in holy water. The blue flames thinned out. Satan froze, a hand still gripped on Rin and then music entered the room and followed by a chorus of psalms.

"**DAMNED EXORCISTS!**" Satan howled and struggled to move his host, causing Shiro's body to bleed more.

"Hey! Four-eyes! Satan doesn't have a fatal verse, so the only way to save Shiro is for him to fight the possession!" Shura peeked inside the room, Yukio saw her and behind her were a choir of Exorcists.

"Rin! You heard her, If my voice can't reach Dad, then yours might!" Yukio shouted back _'It's you who triggered it'_

Rin grabbed Shiro's uniform, muscles aching, something liquid was starting to fill his lungs, and with a heavy gasp, he pulled his self-up, "Old man! Fight the bastard! I know you're there, so snap out of it! "he cried as his body was starting to tremble, his vision was starting to blur too, the blue flames dimming itself into darkness, "DAD!" he called once more. Now Rin was having a hard time breathing, blood blocking his lungs, his body was starting to numb from the pain, his arms were losing strength and before he would fall, he let out one more cry, "I'M SORRY!" his body finally gave up. He lay there as he was losing consciousness, soaking from the blood of his bile. The last thing he saw were men in black uniform entering the room.

"I.. won't let you take… him, they're my sons." Shiro's gentle voice faded.

_Author's Notes:_

_Not much to put here…uhm Read and Review? I'd like to know if my writing isn't hard to understand, I'm not that fluent in English. _


	4. I am your Doctor

**Chapter 4: I am your Doctor**

_CHAPTER WARNINGS: Surprisingly no blood warning_

Somewhere at the depths of the Knights of the True Cross HQ, Confinement Cell where Yukio Okumura is held.

"Hello, Yukio Okumura?" A young woman, dressed in the uniform of the Anti-Demon Research Division, asked. She carried a recorder and a notebook with her. She sat on the opposite side of the table where Yukio was sitting.

"Yes." Yukio wasn't restrained and he felt relieved at that but the only thing uncomfortable in the room was that guards were standing in the corner, eyeing his every movement.

The woman noticed the uneasiness the kid felt and asked the guards to leave the room, the guards obeyed and left the two inside. She then placed the recorder in the middle of the table.

"I am Homare Todo, I'll be asking you questions, okay?" The woman smiled. Yukio felt the tension in the room lessened and he nodded.

"You are fifteen?"

Yukio nodded.

"You are going to attend the Exorcist cram school at Japan's True Cross Academy?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Excuse me?"

"Oh sorry, what I mean is, why do you want to be an Exorcist?"

"Because I could see demons since I was born, and wanted to be strong and also protect my brother."

"Were you aware of your lineage?"

"I only knew half of it when Father Fujimoto explained to me how I can see demons, but I wasn't aware what demon I was related to -" Yukio paused and remembered during Satan's possession, "-until Father Fujimoto revealed it an hour ago."

"Do you have any demonic abilities?"

"No. I'm completely human, it was my brother who had inherited the demon's power."

Homare started to scribble down her notes, the recorder still on.

"Are you still going to study and become an Exorcist even after you discovered that you are related to Satan?"

"I'm not going to acknowledge that I'm related to that demon! And of course, I've been studying since I was seven, I'm not gonna throw that away just because of that."

Homare wrote something on her notebook again and she was mumbling, "…denies…spawn of Satan…."

Yukio frowned at the woman. _'I can hear you.'_

"Alright. I'm going to explain what the Higher-ups had decided." Homare explained how the trial for Shiro and Mephisto went and that the conditions made, she also revealed what will happen to his brother. She then pulled out a syringe from her uniform. Yukio noticed and tensed.

"Your arm please, if you won't comply you will be executed along with your brother." Homare's smile turned grim. "Once we find your blood to be normal then you're free to go. But you will still undergo weekly examinations under Professor Dragulesc."

Yukio hesitated for a second but obeyed and placed his right arm on the table. The needle dug under his skin and his blood entered the syringe.

Homare put the safety cap back on the syringe and organized her things before she left the room, Yukio asked her, "H-how is Father Fujimoto? And where is my brother?"

"The Paladin is at the hospital wing of the HQ he is currently suffering from too much blood loss but is fine. As for your brother, he was transferred to the K.R.C. Laboratory in Romania. You are going to be sent there too for Professor Dragulesc's examination, wait here till someone picks you up." And she left.

Yukio finally sighed, but that didn't lessen the worries piling up since Satan's possession. Those jagged blue eyes with red-tinted pupils haunting his thoughts. Shiro told him he was human, but with what happened in that cell, no human could've survived that, those flames that burned everything but them. He wondered how his brother was faring, was he also brooding in his thoughts or was he still resting? Was he _alive_? He could still see how much blood Rin coughed from that episode, it was one of the worse he had, had it something to do with the flames? He hoped, he _prayed_ that his twin was alright.

He shifted his weight, trying to ease up the pain on his side from when he was thrown to the ground. The exorcist's medical staff patched him up and told him that there wasn't anything serious and had minor bruises on his side, he recalled what one exorcist said, "Odd. No burn marks." Truly odd, he wasn't normal at all.

To think that his adoptive father hid this kind of secret from him. Now his mind drifted back to when Shiro asked him to train to be an exorcist when he was small, if he tried to attend the advance exorcist classes then Shiro would've told him sooner. Would it change something if he was told of the truth sooner? Yukio pondered again.

* * *

"The final verdict for Shiro Fujimoto and Mephisto Pheles shall be discussed, " Timowan took the attention of the meeting room, "Due to Shiro Fujimoto's hospitalization, only Mephisto Pheles is present."

The room is filled with a few numbers of people. The three members of the Grigori are present, Timowan, Mephisto Pheles, and Drac Dragulesc. All sitting on one long table with Timowan at the end.

"Well, this is quite an _informal_ trial, Sir Timowan." Mephisto commented, sitting cross-legged at his chair.

"This is an emergency, Sir Pheles." One of the Grigori said.

Timowan coughed to get their attention again, "You must have already seen the footage from the Confinement Cell, Sir Pheles, can you confirm the demon possessing Shiro Fujimoto is Satan and the blue flames are not instigated by the demon child?"

"Yes. Rin is not capable of producing such power in that poor state."

"Still, Satan appeared if not for him, Rin is a danger and should be executed immediately." Another one of the Grigori said.

"Indeed. But it is Fujimoto's fault for giving Satan the chance to possess him."

"What do you mean, Sir Pheles? Is Sir Fujimoto colluding with the said demon?"

Mephisto untangled his legs to face one of the Grigori who asked, "No. Its because Satan has been clawing itself on Fujimoto since the Blue Night, it took him all of his willpower and spirit to keep him out, but of course, Fujimoto is just human, easily troubled by emotions."

"But why Sir Fujimoto?"

"That's because he's the Paladin, a strong and powerful exorcist, able to withstand a few minutes of Satan's possession. Not only that, he was one of the few who survived the Blue Night, indirectly meeting said demon, he did come out alive from that, right?"

"Then the more reason that Rin must be executed, Satan could possess him."

Dragulesc raised his hand. "I have here the results of their examinations, both the twins are not suitable for possession. Rin's _illness _is caused by his demon and human cells to attack each other, it is similar to the rejection state of demon possession, but in his case, it is his own body, so every time he uses his flames or exert inhuman strength, the attack on his body is doubled which if prolonged could result to his death. The other one is completely human, although his body is unaffected by flames, but that's the only thing that is considered not normal. Also, I wish to continue examining them. We could be able to replicate the blue flames and use it to our advantage."

There was a jumble of conversation between the Grigori members while Mephisto gave Dragulesc suspicious looks.

Dragulesc noticed, "What is it, Sir Pheles?"

"I'm just glad to hear that you want the boy alive, _Eminescu_."

Dragulesc glared at Mephisto for using his once forgotten alias.

Mephisto interrupted, "Ah! I forgot to mention, that condition concerning about me educating them, do you mean to also train them as Exorcists? " he chuckled, "Satan's son, an Exorcist? Oh, the irony."

"You're one to talk, _Samael_." Dragulesc spat back.

"Ooof, it's been so long that someone called me that."

* * *

"And that's what they decided." Mephisto leaned back on the chair beside Shiro's bed, swinging the keys on his finger.

Shiro craned his neck towards Mephisto and groaned, "And they agreed to let Rin study Exorcism if he wants to? Not only that, I'm not allowed to see them? My kids, my poor kids." He lifted an arm to his face and massaged the headache he got.

Then the door to the room opened, Shura angrily marching in with Lewin following behind. Both took a seat and circled around Shiro.

"So who'd they picked?" Shiro asked while Shura sulked on her chair, her lips thinning down.

"I can't believe it. I can't!" Was what she replied.

Shiro and Mephisto raised an eyebrow then transferred their eyes to Lewin, "Obviously, it wasn't me." He replied.

Mephisto threw his keys up and caught it, "I won the bet!" he laughed. Shiro just glared at him.

"Wow, so Arthur's my interim. Care to tell me why?" Shiro then went to look back at Lewin who he bet would be his interim.

Lewin shrugged. "It'll be hard to move when everyone's watching you, you know." Shiro rolled his eyes, he expected that kind of reply. And Shura, oblivious to what hidden context lies from what Lewin said, snorted.

Shiro faced Shura, "Can you fill me in on teaching the cram school? You can handle Field Training and Enchantments and Sigil Studies. And… while you're there, you can teach Rin how to use the sword."

Shura raised a brow, "I'll take the teaching position, heck, the higher-ups probably gonna assign me there to monitor your kids anyway. And why the sword for Rin? Don't tell me you're planning on letting him draw the Kurikara?"

Shiro shook his head, "No. Not yet. But he needs something to use so he can defend himself. He's not too smart to be an Aria and a Doctor, he lacks the focus to use guns, It'd be risky for him to be a tamer and have him accidentally summon a high-level demon so that leaves a Knight."

Shura playfully swayed from her chair, pouting her lips as she thought, "And what about his illness? I heard he can't exhaust himself too much."

"Dragulesc might be able to fix that so until then can you teach him?" Shiro ushered, even pouting his lips at her.

Shura rolled her eyes and gave in. "Alright-alright now stop that, it's disgusting."

* * *

_BEEP… BEEP… BEEP…_

Rin squinted his eyes when the light almost blinded him. He blinked a few more until his eyes adjusted, his breaths were muffled and noticed an oxygen mask attached to his face. His eyes navigated around the room, it was large, the electrical equipment almost taking all the space around him. He recognized a heart monitor at his side, there were also screens next to it but the words were unreadable to him like a foreign language. Then he heard breathing next to his lying form on the bed and saw Yukio asleep, half his body arched down on the bed while the other half sat on a chair, it looked uncomfortable.

Rin decided to wake him up by shaking him lightly until he noticed multiple injection marks and bandages on his own arm. The heart monitor sped up along with him, he then looked over his other arm and there were multiple tubes connected to him, different types of solutions entering his body._ 'What the hell!?'_

Yukio woke up from the erratic beeping of the monitor and hastily put on his glasses and looked at Rin who was panicking, "Nii-san, calm down! Don't tear them off, No!" Yukio grabbed both of Rin's wrists, carefully evading the tubes and injection marks.

"Wha-what is all this?" Rin took off his oxygen mask and asked, slowly calming down, Yukio let go of his wrists and pulled his chair closer to the bed.

"They're to help your… _demon cells_ slow down the attacks on your body." Yukio quietly and calmly explained.

"Demon…cells? –oh" Rin blankly looked at nothing, "So that wasn't a dream." He laid back down on the bed and lifted an arm to his forehead, hiding his eyes from Yukio.

Yukio left Rin to think while he patiently sat there for more questions from his twin. Fear is what lingered inside Rin's mind. Fear for and from his self. Minutes passed and Yukio thought Rin fell asleep again until he removed his arm from his face, eyes slightly red with a few beads of tears refusing to fall from around the corner. Their tired cerulean eyes mirroring each other.

"You look like crap, Yukio."

"You look worse, Rin, not to mention you have bed hair."

Rin grinned, "So, Where are we? " and he gasped, "Wha-what happen to the old man!? Is he alright!? Is he-is he de-"

"God no, Rin! He's not! He's alive, I heard."

"Heard?"

Yukio nodded slowly, he then glanced at the door then back to Rin. "We're not allowed to see him."

"Why?"

"It's a precautionary measure for people who get possessed by demons, so it won't trigger another one since you were the one who _caused_ it. And we won't be able to see him a lot after this, the Order is transferring him to the Vatican." Yukio also explained what their current situation is, the trial, the charges, and the conditions.

Rin couldn't help but feel hurt when Yukio told him he was the cause for the possession, if only he didn't start to get angry at them for keeping a _huge _secret and instead understand why they had to keep it. Why? To be made as a weapon. Rin mirrored Yukio's pained look when he explained that part with the trial, had the old man raised him just for this? And now that he was not fit for it, he ended up as an experiment subject? Disgust drew over Rin's expression.

"So I take they examined me already? How about you?"

"They took blood samples and did a physical check-up on me three days ago."

Rin's eyes widened, "Three days!?"

Yukio nodded and told Rin that he was out for three days and Yukio stayed by his side since, and within those three days, a team of researchers and scientist flocked over to him, took blood samples and tissues, issued DCR (Demon Cell Reducer) solutions of different levels to test how it works on his body then scanned him from head to toe. "On the bright side, they didn't cut you open."

"That doesn't make me happy at all, ugh I feel like a lab rat."

The door to his room opened and an old man in a white coat covering over his white exorcist uniform entered the room. "So you have awakened, Rin."

"Dr. Dragulesc." Yukio greeted, Rin's eyes trailing from Yukio to Dragulesc.

Dragulesc pulled a chair near him and placed it on the other side of Rin's bed and sat there, "Do you understand why you are here?" Rin nodded hesitantly. "Alright, I'll explain what is happening to your body. But first I will explain how Demon Possession works and how it affects the host's body. During possession, the host's body transforms and merges with the power of the demon, thus giving them demonic features, but there is also a rejection state. A rejection state is when the transformation fails to merge with the host body due to the body not being able to contain the demon's power. The host pushes the demon out of its own or destroys itself. In your case, which is rather rare, you are stuck in a rejection state, mainly because that body and soul are yours, to begin with. This means the demon cells from your demon side and your human cells from your human side are attacking each other. And with the sealing of your demon power, the destruction rate to your body is slowed down. So every time you exert inhuman strength or any demonic power you have from your partial awakening, it will only bring you pain, as if your body is tearing itself apart from the inside, but not enough to kill you."

Dragulesc paused his explanation and brought a hand over at the IV stand where one of the bags that hanged there had 'DCR IV' written on it. "This is a Demon Cell Reducer level 4, we have been testing the previous levels on you the past three days while you were unconscious, and found out that level 4 works on you well, you and your brother will have weekly examinations starting next week, your brother will have his blood tested while you will undergo DCR testing and bringing out your flames."

Yukio interrupted and asked, "I thought using his demonic power will cause his attacks? Why would you let him use his flames?"

"It is part of the condition that you two are still alive and well, and not on an operating table." Dragulesc gave him a stern look. "Using his flames risk the attacks but he will then be injected with DCR right after, it will only cause him a little pain."

Rin slightly shook his head, little pain? The pain he felt right after bursting with his own flames back at the hospital and then at the confinement cell were excruciating, like what Dragulesc explained, the pain felt like his body was tearing itself apart from the inside, the stabbing burns to his stomach, the copper-like taste sloshing within his lungs ready to push out from his mouth, the hammering headache and the throbbing of his limbs as it falls weakly by his sides. It is unbearable and they want him to use the flames for their experiment, making him repeat the cycle of pain.

"Nii-san? Are you alright?" Yukio's voice left hanging as Rin remained in a daze. Yukio was in these weekly examinations too, the condition included him. But the old man said he was human, yet the Order wanted him to undergo the examination still, and if they won't comply they'll get executed. Wow, executed just for being born… but then again, being related to the god of demons was enough reason for them to do it especially since this organization kills demons for a living.

For a moment, he thought of escaping, but it wasn't possible with how large and wide the Order was.

The thought of Yukio having to do only blood tests and not experience what he was having lessened his worries, especially since he'll be starting High School next week too. Rin couldn't help but feel proud that his brother is going to high school with a scholarship at that too.

"Sir Pheles will be taking you in and will be your guardian while you learn about Exorcists."

"Who?" Rin asked.

"Me!" The pink puff of smoke that suddenly appeared spoke, as soon as it cleared a _man_ clad in a pastel-white dress suit with puffy pants and a white top hat stood at the center, to Rin he looked eerily similar to a clown. The man took off his hat then bowed slightly at them. "Guten Tag! Johann Faust the Fifth, at your service!" He greeted them with a wink.

Rin swatted the smoke away from him, "I thought your name was Pheles." Then he wondered how the man even entered the room.

"In the Order, I'm much more known as Mephisto Pheles, Honorary Knight of the Knights of the True Cross." Mephisto's eyes wandered around the fading injection marks and tubes connected to Rin's arm. Frowning a bit at his appearance, he then turned to Dragulesc.

"That's a lot of injection marks, Doctor. Did you enjoy drawing that much blood from him?"

Dragulesc's head slightly moved, the glass of his monocle shining, "It's for the initial examination, the next ones won't be as much." He stood up from the chair and walked towards the door, passing by Mephisto. "I'll be calling for someone to take the tubes out, then you can take both of them away. I'm going to send someone to your school to administer the DCR if an attack occurs." And Dragulesc was out of the room.

Mephisto strode towards the vacant chair, he snapped his finger and the chair was replaced with a purple cushioned type and he sat there.

"How did ya do that!?" Rin spurted out, he locked eyes with the man and he, somehow, felt power from it, he then noticed the pointy ears and the noticeably long canines he had, was he human? He wondered.

Mephisto leaned to his side so he could see Yukio behind Rin on the other side of the bed "Ah Yukio, there's one of my top students, you look tired, don't forget the school's entrance ceremony starts tomorrow. You better get some beauty rest." Then he looked at me, "The same goes for you Rin, you're going to school with your brother at True Cross Academy."

Rin choked on his saliva, "I-I'm going to school!? Yukio's school!? That super-private school for geniuses!? Why?"

"Well, since Shiro convinced the Grigori to train you into a weapon, seeing as you have no knowledge of what an Exorcist is nor what the Order does, you'll be going to enter the cram classes for Exorcists. And since you're still a child, you'll also be enrolled for the regular classes. Exciting isn't it!?"

Rin gaped at the news, that school is like for the super-rich or the super-geniuses like Yukio, he was both not. "They're allowing me to take the Exorcist cram classes? I can be an Exorcist?"

"Depends on you. I asked the Grigori too, none seem to disagree with it."

"Nii-san, to be an Exorcist requires you to fight demons, you'll risk having attacks." Yukio reasoned out of worry.

"It's alright, that old doctor said as long as I won't use my extra demonic strength, then I can avoid the attacks, pluuuuus…" Rin shifted, he then gave Yukio a serious face, "If they want me to be their weapon, might as well train as an Exorcist, I don't want to always rely on others to protect me nor do I want them to get hurt because I know nothing." Memories of when Satan possessed Shiro rushed into Rin's mind.

"Excellent! If you know how to protect yourself, then I won't have to always monitor you twenty-four hours a day, taking a lot of my _time_. " Mephisto said, "Remember, word spreads fast, the sons of Satan are now in the custody of the True Cross Order, many humans and demons would chase you either to drag back to Gehenna or for their own wicked purposes. My school is protected by a barrier to keep demons out, but it won't protect you from that inside, so you both better keep your demonic heritage a secret to avoid such attention. Any more questions?"

Rin looked back at Mephisto, "What's a Grigori?"

_Review Responses:_

_Miyaraa: thanks for dropping a review, I'm glad it interests you, also what escalated quickly? Satan's possession or the trial itself? The trial starts before school so the story can start to focus back on the twins and their school life. Anyway, the next chapter is school! Oh and no I don't have other Blue Exorcists fic's other than this and the one titled Earthquakes, if you think it's similar to another story then maybe you mean Unseen by LittleFireOfLife, the start is similar because it focused on a sick Rin when he was still a child. Chapter 2 is actually the first chapter I wrote, then I needed a backstory and that was Chapter 1. Oh and Shiro's alive! With a surprising appearance of one Homare Todo._

_Author's Notes:_

_Review please, I want your opinions, I can even take on flames, it'll give me ideas about where to improve :D_


	5. True Cross Academy

**Chapter 5: True Cross Academy**

Rin gawked at what just happened, one second they were at Rin's room in Romania next thing they're at the Monastery. Yukio was the first to collect himself and lifted his arm to close Rin's gaping mouth.

Mephisto closed the door, "Ah! Izumi, Nagatomo, and Kyodo, greetings! I've safely brought the twins back and I'll pick them up tomorrow morning for school. Kay? Auf Wiedersehen!" Then a puff of smoke took Mephisto from where he stood, leaving the Monastery.

The three clergymen froze and dropped the things they were currently doing, for Izumi, quite literally as the broomstick clattered and echoed loudly on the floor of the church. The next thing the twins knew, they were being hugged one by one by the three men, greeting them and telling them how worried they were ever since they heard that Exorcists from the Vatican took them with Shiro.

Nagatomo noticed the bandages that covered the whole wrist of Rin's arm and shot him a worried look, "What did they do to you?" He then glanced at Yukio then to his arms, relieved when he saw nothing like what happened on Rin's.

"You guys knew?" Rin asked, voice a little betrayed.

"Yes, we did. We know everything. But that doesn't mean we'll treat you any different, you are the same brats we struggled to raise with no prior knowledge of raising infants whatsoever." Nagatomo laughed at the memory," We're really _really_ glad that you two are okay. Can you tell us what happened?"

Kyodo called them to the kitchen so they can talk there, Yukio and Rin took turns to explain what happened at the Vatican and the conditions set up for them. Yukio purposely left the examinations and experiments out, expecting Rin to tell it himself since he was mostly involved in it. Rin didn't and instead kept it a secret, but he did tell them that his illness was related to his demon genes and that they shouldn't worry about him going to school.

Nagatomo also explained their side regarding their secrets about them, and how they weren't fazed by the sudden appearance and disappearance of one Mephisto Pheles in the Church. He told them that He and Shiro Fujimoto were friends.

During the afternoon, the twins took the time packing their things for school, Yukio explained that they'll be living in dorms. As night came, they retreated to their rooms.

Yukio went in and saw Rin sitting on his bed on the bottom bunk, his gaze glued to the window, or more specifically, to the Coal tars floating near a light post outside of the Monastery grounds.

"Hey, Yukio." Rin paused, eyes still locked on the window. "When did you know…about demons and about _me_?"

Yukio walked up to Rin, facing him across the bed. "Since I can remember, then Dad told me about us- about you when I was six. He also told me that the reason I can see demons was that you gave me a temptaint when we were still in the womb." Rin finally looked at Yukio, confused, "A temptaint is a wound caused by a demon, which allows humans to see demons."

Rin realizes, putting the pieces of his memories together about Yukio's odd behavior. "I'm sorry." He whispered while looking down on the floor.

Yukio sighed, "Just so you know, I don't blame you." Rin's eyes lightened up as he glanced back at his younger brother. "Truth is, I did when I first knew why, but then Dad told me you'll face much more worse when you're older. Seeing how strong you were fighting off bullies, I told Dad I wanted to be strong too, to fight demons and asked me to study and train as an Exorcist, until… you got sick."

Rin's guilt rises, Yukio continued, "Remember back when we were seven, it was your second episode since you were first diagnosed? You told me something that scared me more than those demons, so I decided, instead of using my extra time to train as an Exorcist, I wanted to be by your side and help you when you got sick and bed-ridden. I kept you company and helped you catch up with the classes you missed. "

_'What was it I said back then? My brother sacrificed the chance to protect himself from demons to take care of me.'_ Rin's eye couldn't focus on his brother's so back to the floor he stared, wallowing in guilt. "Thanks… and sorry again for stealing your chance to be an Exorcist, and being stuck with taking care of me instead of focusing more on your future."

"Stop blaming yourself for that, Rin. It was my decision, not yours."

"And I was the reason why you decided it! I couldn't even protect you properly-"

"You protected me from bullies, mostly the reason you got sick."

"-and those demons I was oblivious of!"

"You couldn't do anything about that, Dad gave me a charm to keep them away, so they can't harm me physically."

After a few seconds of silence, Rin still glued on looking at the floor. Yukio sighed and slapped both of Rin's cheeks with his hands and forced him to look up. "Who are you and what have you done with my brother?" He squinted his eyes behind his frames.

"Whuh?"

"My brother who's a ball of positive energy, shouting and laughing like a monkey, not this bag full of remorse, where is he!?" He demanded.

"Hey! Who you calling a monkey!? And I'm not that loud, four-eyes!" Rin jumped up from his bed, his shout bouncing inside the room, then he realizes it's nighttime "Oops." He clutched his mouth with his hand.

Yukio started to chuckle, then Rin followed with a laugh. Shortly after a set of muffled laughter joined them from behind the door.

Rin marched towards their door and opened it, three men came tumbling in their laughs slowly fading. "Really? Eavesdropping?'

Nagatomo, Kyodo and Izumi fixed their selves up, "We just wanted to check in on you guys then you started talking and it looked like the conversation was heating up, we were preparing ourselves to interfere when one of you might start fighting and might end up with someone coughing up blood. I'm glad it didn't end that way." Kyodo explained.

* * *

The twins step out of Mephisto's limousine, taking in the appearance of the Academy's large buildings, the students already lining up inside to prepare for the entrance ceremony. Mephisto snapped his fingers and the mounds of luggage the twins bought disappeared, he told them he transferred it to their dorm.

"Nii-san, just let me do it." Yukio offered, Rin was groaning and having trouble with his uniform's necktie.

"No- it's okay, I can do it." More struggling, Rin nearly choked, "Ah doesn't matter, it's not like I'll get in trouble for it."

"Actually, you'll do. The prefects here are strict and I'd rather not get called by a teacher because of a certain someone not following the dress code." Mephisto reminded.

"Then would you mind if I do it?" An old familiar voice spoke from beside them. Surprising both Rin and Yukio.

"D-Dad!?" They chorused, both surprised at the presence, Shiro in his Exorcist uniform stopped just a step from Rin, glancing down on his crumpled necktie. Rin seemed to freeze, so Shiro swatted the teen's hands on the tie and he neatly straightened it.

The three, plus Mephisto grinning in the background, were quiet while Shiro fixed Rin's tie, then folded down the collar of his uniform, fixing the crumpled parts. "Look at that, both of you are as tall as I am now. When you were both small, you were really cute, always calling 'Daddy, Daddy'."

Yukio fixed his glasses, "That was a long time ago, Dad. Anyway, why are you here? Is okay for you to go out? What about the Vatican?" the concern in his voice was present.

"A little rule-breaking won't kill me, besides, we haven't seen each other since that _time_." Shiro's eyes softened as he gave the twins a genuine smile, "I'm glad you both are taking it well."

Rin recalled how Shiro convinced the Vatican to spare them, "Yeah… we- I'll meet your expectations, old man. Just you wait, I won't disappoint you. I'll be an Exorcist and a weapon. "

Hurt flashed over Shiro's eyes, "Rin. That was Mephisto's idea, my expectations from you? Is to enjoy your new life here at school and have a bright future. " Shiro then gestured for Yukio to come closer, he then placed his hand on each of the twins' heads, comfortingly ruffling their hair. "You are my sons, I don't think of you as anything else. Got that?"

Yukio's head was slightly tilted, his glasses hiding the emotion in his eyes but his lips gave a strained smile, while Rin was busy appreciating a bush nearby while he was forcing his eyes not to tear up, he did not want to cry, he never cried.

"I asked if you got that?"

"Ye-yes…Daddy." The twins chorused and Shiro froze then he head-locked the two under both of his arms then dragged them to face Mephisto.

"Mephisto! You heard them right!? They called me Daddy! It's been so long since they called me that! I- I'm so touched right now." Shiro explained like he just won the lottery, Mephisto is amused at the rare parental side that Shiro showed to the public.

"The entrance ceremony is about to start, and also, you've been attracting a crowd." Mephisto leaned on his umbrella for support then glanced at the students that stopped to look at them. He coughed to get their attention. "Alright students! The ceremony's about to start, you all better go in now and not be late."

The students recognized Mephisto and greeted him, "Y-yes, Headmaster!" One of them called then they all left.

Both Rin and Yukio were released from Shiro's grip, "Headmaster!? You're the Headmaster of this school!?" Rin asked doubtfully.

"And I thought you already knew when I introduced myself as Faust, little Rin." Mephisto raised a brow.

Then the bell rang, indicating the start of the ceremony. The twins jumped at how late it was already and told Shiro they need to go now, they bid him goodbye and a "See you later old man." from Rin.

But before they could be out of earshot from Shiro, he gave them his own set of goodbyes, "Take care, my cute little children!"

The two paused and warned, "Daaaaad!" Shiro gave them a chuckle.

Disappearing into the masses of students lining into the building, Shiro's demeanor returned to his serious mode and glared at Mephisto, "Try to harm them, Mephisto. And I'll burn that secret stash of your anime collection hidden under your figurine rack in your office."

"I'll try not to kill them."

"And I'll chase you to the ends of Assiah." Shiro glowered.

"Got that. Because Satan would also chase me to the ends of Gehenna. No escape there." Mephisto sneered at the thought. "Speaking of which, is he still lingering around your mind?"

"Not much if I'm not around the twins. I guess it's safe to keep my distance from them." Shiro annoyingly scratched his hair, "He keeps saying about '_Assiah' _like a curse that it's annoying."

"Oh. What about it?"

"I can't form a coherent idea, but its bits of it, like 'Find Assiah.' Or 'Claim Assiah', he also mention's 'Pillars'."

Mephisto was surprised and Shiro noticed the reaction, it must have meant something to him. "What are pillars, Mephisto? I've read them in some religions but they're more on faith and conducts, the way Satan speaks of it sounds like they're persons."

"He must be desperate to walk on Assiah. Ah, trouble is brewing." Mephisto shifted his weight, they could talk in the office but it'll drag on for hours and the Vatican won't be happy to know Shiro just broke a condition. "Let's just keep an eye on Lucifer and his group."

Shiro held the Key for Rin's seal to Mephisto, telling him that it's safer than with him since he'll be doing a lot of missions. "I heard from Dragulesc, about Rin's condition. I hate to think that sealing his heart is the reason he's suffering like this. What if drawing the sword would stop the rejection state."

"Or kill him. Remember the Vatican spared him only because he still isn't a threat."

Shiro frowned at Mephisto but he ignored it and continued, "We don't know what'll happen back then, we sealed it moments after he was born. And he only showed the symptoms when he was seven. You better get back to the Vatican, I don't want Exorcists roaming around my school trying to find you."

* * *

Rin was clapping and swiped a fake tear from his eyes, "Yukio! Why didn't you tell me you're the first-years representative!? I'm so proud of my genius little brother. I could've whipped up a nice dinner to celebrate last night."

"I guess it just wasn't worth mentioning?" Yukio reasoned.

"Not worth mentioning!?" Rin gasped in his mother-hen mode, he leaned back and placed a hand on his chest like he was hurt, to Yukio it even looked like he was wearing an apron, "Now young man, that kind of achievement is more than just mentioning, it should be celebrated!" He shot his hands upwards and gave him a toothy grin, which earned the two some weird looks from the students in the hallway.

"Yes, mother." Yukio deadpanned, but still entertained Rin and his antics. "But its too late already and you shouldn't strain yourself, nii-san. And stop gaining attraction, I don't like it."

"Anyway, where are we going?" Rin asked, Yukio was leading the way and he was just following him.

"To the Admin's office, you need to be evaluated and see what class you'll be in. Sir Pheles told me while you were busy touching his stuff in the car."

"Oh. I'll be taking a test? What about my academic history? Can't they just base it on that?"

"They can, but they also need to know about your medical history. Sir Pheles said that you'll be using your old diagnosis for it since most of the teachers here would just get confused about the diagnosis Dr. Dragulesc gave."

Rin remembered his time at middle school, he was always left out when there's a field trip or a school event, he also does not have friends since they were scared of him when he can't control his anger and lashes out, and they were also scared _for_ him when an attack happens after he lashes out, crumpled on the floor- coughing out blood. They had conflicting feelings about him, should the students help him? Or keep their distance so they won't have to bother taking care of him. Eventually, none were keen on keeping him company, except for Yukio, but it's not every time Yukio was around since he's always at the top classes. "Oh yeah."

Then Rin recalled, he now knew how to avoid the attacks, and unlike back then, he has control over his feelings. "I got this!" He declared to himself. Yukio looked at him and raised a brow, wondering what Rin was thinking during the walk.

* * *

"Your test results will be out tomorrow and you'll know what class you are going to be in, Mr. Okumura." A teacher told Rin, he thought the test wasn't that hard, thanks to Yukio who keeps pestering him to study while his bed-ridden. Maybe class C or D? he hoped so he could have some classes with Yukio who is currently in Class A. "As for your medical problem, we'll tell this to your teachers so they can help you with your studies, especially PhysEd."

Rin thanked the teacher, he walked out of the office and saw Yukio having a friendly talk with another student. He had a blond streak on the middle of his hair and piercings, Rin wondered if that was allowed, he looked like a cool punk, he never thought Yukio had friends like that…unless they're bullies. _(AN: You know, since True Cross Academy is a prestigious school, I thought they would be strict about hair dyeing and ear piercings.)_

Rin marched towards them but slowed down when he heard their conversation.

"…cram class, my friends are waiting for me at the fountain, you can join us if you want." The student said.

"It's ok, Suguro. I'm waiting for my brother." Yukio replied then noticed Rin approaching them, "Oh. Here he is. "

"Hey. The teacher said my test results would be out tomorrow."

"Suguro, this is my brother, Rin. " Yukio gestured to Rin, who was currently eyeing Suguro, "Rin, this is Suguro Ryuji, a _scholar_ like me." He emphasized the word 'scholar' as he noticed Rin was already categorizing Ryuji as your typical bully.

Rin stopped his eyeing, "Oh. Well, he looked like a punk, not my fault."

Suguro was already annoyed at how Rin was glaring at him then calls him a punk. Suguro noted, he can't get well with the guy, yet he tried. "Test? Like an entrance exam? They're still enrolling students?"

"Yes. Yeah. Uhm, I don't know." Rin answered in order, shrugging at the last one.

"So how did it go?" Yukio asked, changing the topic, he forgot that the school only takes in students who take the scheduled entrance exam, which was a month ago, unless in special cases, and his brother's case shouldn't be known to the public.

"I may end up between class D or E." Rin grinned.

"That bad?" Suguro piped in.

"Hey, it's not that bad."

"Well, they did say, the older one gets the brain." Suguro then looked at Yukio.

Yukio adjusted his glasses, "I'm the younger one, though." He corrected.

"What!?"

"Hey, did you just call me an idiot!?"

"But I was convinced you're the older one, you're even taller than him," Suguro explained, ignoring Rin.

"I just haven't hit my growth spurt yet! I'll be taller than Yukio soon!"

"Nii-san, tone it down. Since regular class won't start till the next three days doesn't mean there aren't students around." And as if on cue, a few students were staring at them.

But that didn't end Suguro and Rin's bickering, the topic was now about dress codes, where Suguro started it with how crumpled and untucked Rin's uniform was. And Rin following it about his piercings. Yukio had to literally drag Rin away from Suguro so they won't get in trouble for being too noisy in the hallway.

* * *

The twins ended up at one of the Academy's field. Yukio looked at his wristwatch, "We still got three hours till cram school starts."

"Oh yeah, is that rooster guy studying to be an exorcist too? I heard him talk about cram school." Rin was stretching his legs.

"There are other cram classes here besides Exorcism, it could be anything. Anyway, what are you doing?" Yukio watched as Rin removed his uniform and left his inner shirt, exposing the barely visible injection and tube spots he got from yesterday, he then started to jog where he was stretching.

"I'm gonna test how far my normal strength goes without triggering my demon strength."

"What!? No, you can't! What if you'll have an attack, nii-san?" but Yukio was already too late to stop him, as Rin threw his uniform at him and ran towards the track.

Rin started slow running, half-way around the track, he sped-up keeping a steady pace. Nearly circling the whole track he noticed how odd his stamina was, he wasn't gasping for air yet nor feeling tired. He passed by Yukio, who was keeping tabs on his watch, timing Rin.

For the second time, Rin was half-way around the track, that's when pain flashed in his head. He slowed down to a stop and tried to massage his head.

Yukio ran towards his brother, who was clutching his head in the middle of the track, "Rin! Are you okay?" He then pulled him out of the track and into a shade under a tree nearby.

"Ho-how long did I take?" Rin asked despite the throbbing headache.

"Two minutes and ten seconds."

"Only?" Rin winced, the hammering in his head wasn't receding.

"I knew this was a bad idea, come, let's go to the infirmary, you could rest there till the headache ends."

Rin didn't protest while Yukio led the way, "At least we know how long my normal strength can last till my demon strength kicks in. Hehe. Now I just need to know how much is my normal strength."

"No, Rin. You're not gonna lift heavy stuff just to test that. But this is an improvement, you avoided an attack just now."

"Uhh. Yukio." Rin called nasally. Yukio looked behind to see Rin stopping a nosebleed by pinching his nose. Yukio panicked and pulled him by his free arm and ran, not as fast as he did back on the track, towards the nearest infirmary.

_Author's Notes: Thank you so much for the faves and Follows! To and Nina-Chan202, thank you for leaving a review 3!_


	6. Our Teachers are too much

**Chapter 6: Our Teachers are too much**

As the twins arrived at the school infirmary, the nurse immediately tended Rin who was having a nose bleed. Yukio stood aside and watch the nurse help Rin clean all the blood, the nurse then propped Rin's head upwards which made him wince when the action throbbed the headache harder.

Yukio was the one to explain to the nurse about Rin's condition, the nurse went to the medicine cabinet and asked if the patient was allowed to take in acetaminophen, Yukio simply nodded. She let Rin rest at a bed and left the room to get a copy of his medical record from the Admin Office.

Once she came back, she then skimmed the record and reminded Yukio about his brother's health. "You should've stopped him when he wanted to run. Be responsible next time. Why would he even run if he knows he'll end up like this? Oh, kids these days." She closed the papers she was holding, "Okumura-kun, you both need to take care of your health, being reckless like this would only make your parents worry."

Yukio nodded, faking a smile at the nurse, he was used to this, getting lectured by the adults because he let his brother do something he shouldn't have especially when it comes to Rin's _illness_.

"Okumura-kun, you need to understand that your brother's illness is no joke, this is a serious matter. " The school nurse read the rest of his medical history and groaned, "Immune System Disorder…susceptible to other sicknesses….must not exhaust the patient … attacks include. Nausea, Nose-bleeds, Muscle Fatigue… " She gasped at the rest, "Coughing blood, Fainting."

He sighed, the nurse left them and returned to her table at the other side of the room which was divided by a wall.

"Sorry, she got angry at you." Rin whispered, his eyes still closed as he lay on the bed.

"Well, It's not the first time this happened." Yukio frowned at him, lazily sitting in an armchair next to his bed. "How's your headache?"

"It's still there, but not as painful as before, the meds kicking in, I guess."

Yukio glanced back at his watch, "There's still an hour till cram classes, better take that and rest."

"I wonder how long my attacks would take if I don't collapse from the pain." Rin wondered, he was really curious what changed with his strength after _'partially awakening'_ as what Dragulesc dubbed, before, he was able to lift heavy objects, such as –believe it or not, cars! But of course, after he attempted to do that he got sent to the hospital, knocked out for three whole days. Rin cracked open an eye to look at Yukio.

"Rin." Yukio warned, his eyes turning sharp as he glared at his brother. "Don't. Even. Think. About. It."

"Okay, okay. Chill. " Rin snapped his eyes back to a close, unable to take the scary-looking Yukio next to him. A few minutes later, Rin fell asleep. Yukio also dozed off as they waited for their Cram classes.

* * *

"..in. Rin." Yukio called. With no response, he shook Rin slightly, "Nii-san. We're late!"

Rin's eyes opened, the first thing he noticed was that his headache was still there but not as painful and annoying as before, he scanned the room and saw Mephisto at the foot of his bed, irritatingly tapping his shoes.

Mephisto raised a brow at him, "Cram classes had started five minutes ago." He reminded, then brought out two pieces of keys.

Rin got off the bed and took the key Mephisto gave, the other key was given to Yukio. "Follow me."

Mephisto walked towards the other side of the room where the nurse's table was and they heard the nurse ask how the headmaster got in, Mephisto didn't answer her instead told her he was going to take the twins away. The nurse didn't argue and asked Rin if he rested well. They thanked the nurse then left.

"Uh, what're the keys for?"

Mephisto led them to an empty hallway, he then walked towards a door. "Use those keys to enter the cram school, put it in the keyhole of any door, it's quite convenient." He then looked at Yukio, "Yukio has another one, I believe, Fujimoto gave you a key for the Exorcist Supply Shop? "

Yukio nodded and took out another key from his pocket, Shiro gave him the key after he got his license for his Exorcist guns last month, so he can purchase his own bullets with a few restrictions since he was still training to be an Exorcist.

"The Vatican gave me your guns after they confiscated it, I'll give it back to you once your class starts with field training. As for you Rin." Mephisto brought out his hand and another Key popped out of the pink smoke he summoned, it had a string looped around it like a necklace, "Fujimoto should be the one to explain this, but since he's not here. This is a Kamikakushi Key. It hides the Kurikara, the Koma sword where your demon heart is sealed." He then brought it towards Rin's chest seeing as Rin was hesitating to hold it, "Your flames reside in that sword, the scabbard acts as a seal for it. And if you draw it, you will assume your demonic nature. And can never live as a _human_ again."

Rin gulped, "Wouldn't that kill me?" he reached for Mephisto's hand and pushed it back to him, "Wouldn't it be safer to keep it hidden?"

"I don't think you understand how important this Key is, your demon heart is in it, it's the core of your power, the equivalent of your life. If you give it to me then you might as well be giving your own life away." Mephisto glanced back to Yukio, then threw the Key at him.

Yukio jumped at the exchange and struggled to catch the Key. "Wha- Sir Pheles, you said this was important, how could you just throw it haphazardly!?"

"In the meantime, you keep it. Give it to Rin when he's ready." Mephisto explained, then moved aside and gestured at the keyhole, "Try the key for the cram school, your teacher won't be happy with you being late for the first day."

Rin did what Mephisto said and inserted the key and opened the door, inside was a long ghostly hallway. They walked towards a room with the number 1106 painted on the side of it. Before they opened the room, Mephisto transformed into a purple-white terrier, which surprised Rin.

"How…?" Rin looked at Yukio for an explanation, Yukio gave him a 'Just-go-with-it, will-talk-about-it later' shrug. Rin nodded, understanding what Yukio meant.

"…at most times, when this classroom is empty, a nest of demons called goblins live here-" The instructor paused his explanation and all eyes were directed at the newcomers.

"Doctor Akari!?" Rin shouted as he took sight of his former doctor in the room.

"Ah, the Okumura brothers, nice of you to join us, please take a seat and join the class." Akari smiled at the two, he then caught sight of the dog with them. He raised a curious brow at it, wondering if it was alright to bring a pet inside. He noticed the dog had an Exorcist pin on, he assumed it was a pet of the school. The dog jumped at Rin and was forced to carry Mephisto with him.

The two took the empty seat in the front near the door, they took in their classmates, two girls, and four boys, and one of them was Suguro.

"Suguro?" Yukio whispered.

"Hey, it's the rooster guy!" Unlike Yukio who whispered, Rin shouted before he sat down on his seat.

Suguro choked on the nickname he got, "The hell you calling me a rooster, ya monkey!?" he shouted back, which earned a cough from their teacher and told them all to be quiet.

At the back of the room where Suguro sat, in front of two other boys, were chatting quietly.

"Isn't he the first year's representative?" The pink-haired boy whispered, leaning over his desk so Suguro can hear what he is saying, eyes straight at the teacher talking about how goblins love milk and blood.

"Yeah, I believe his name is Okumura Yukio. The other one must be his brother, they look similar. I wonder why he called Mr. Akari_ 'Doctor'_" The bald one replied.

"Mr. Akari has four meisters, one in Doctor, that's probably why." Suguro simply explained.

Back at Akari, he just finished mixing the formula for calling the goblins in the classroom, he then drew a circle on the board, etched with different symbols inside. "The two at the back without temptaints, please come here."

Suguro and his friend, Konekomaru, stood from their chair. They walked towards the teacher's desk and noticed Rin leaning forward, looking exhausted, his hand carrying the weight of his head, but his eyes are focused on Akari.

Akari started his chant, "Hidden inside the darkness of this room, under the rule of their majesty, heed my call." He then poured the formula on his desk, the circle glowing behind him on the board as he did it. "Come forth."

A green-mossy colored demon, twice the size of a dog appeared from the circle then jumped on the table, sniffing the formula. It earned a few gasps from the room while Suguro and Konekomaru were just confused about why they were surprised.

Akari circled the table while the goblin remained at its position, "You two hold out your hands to me." Akari dropped a bead of the formula on both their hands then pulled it towards the still sniffing goblin.

The classroom watched intently as the goblin moved its attention to the hands offered to him. It sniffed Suguro's first and licked the hand then bit him. Suguro immediately pulled his hand back as he felt a fang enter his skin. The goblin let go after tasting human blood, Suguro's eyes widen at the sight of the goblin in front of him. He backed a few steps away, horrified at the sudden appearance of the demon. Konekomaru was next.

Meanwhile, Rin was wincing at the recurring headache, not only that, he seems to be hearing something else, "…blood!...milk!... I…love...milk…and…blood…" He closed his eyes, not paying attention to the teacher and his classmates doing the temptaint ritual, surprisingly, the voice he heard disappeared.

He looked back up again at the goblin and the voice returned, this time, much more audible, "I love milk 'nd animal blood…hate human blood… disgusting." He looked down at his desk and massaged his head, creeped out at the fact that he was hearing what could be the demon's voice.

Mephisto, who was now seated between Yukio and Rin, noticed the troubled expression his student was showing.

"What's wrong?" he whispered.

"I think I can hear what the goblin is saying…or I'm just going crazy."

"Is it saying something like milk and blood?"

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"I can hear it too. You better ignore it, the more you focus, the more you're using your demon power, we don't want you ruining a wonderful lesson if you collapse right now."

"Ugh, alright." Rin arched down on his desk, using his arms to cushion his head, and tried to think of something else._ 'Wait. How did Mephisto know what it was saying? Ah, he is a demon. Demons can work for the Order?'_ and Rin dozed off from those thoughts.

* * *

Rin woke up as the door slammed shut. He pushed himself back up into a sitting position and saw a different teacher walked in with a familiar face.

"Good morning, class. I'm Kirigakure Shura, Upper First Class Exorcist. I have a meister in Aria, Doctor, Knight, and Tamer. I'll be teaching ya kids Sigils and Enchantments, I'll also be handling ya all when it comes to field-trainings." Shura introduced, she was wearing the school's exorcist teaching uniform, but had modified here upper shirt, where her symbols on her chest and stomach are exposed. She then notices the twins at the front, she smiled at them. Yukio gave her a hesitant smile while Rin was clutching his head even though he was looking straight at her.

"Uhm, ya okay, kid?"

Rin jerked at the attention, prompting him to sit straight and pulled in his arms down on the desk, "Uh, yeah. I'm- I'm okay." Rin looked at his side and noticed Mephisto had disappeared and Yukio was staring straight at him.

"Are you sure?" his brother asked.

Rin nodded slowly so the headache won't hurt even more.

* * *

After Shura's class, another teacher came in, he was older than Shura but younger than Akari, he had dark hair with an ash-blonde patch at his left side.

He stood at his seat ready to introduce himself, "Good morning everyone, " he greeted in a somewhat calm way, "My name is Saburota Todo, I'll be your teacher in the History of Exorcism and also Miss Kirigakure's substitute in Sigils and Enchantments when she's not around. I'm an Upper Second Class Exorcist with a meister in Aria, Doctor, and Tamer."

"Woah. We've got some bad-ass high-ranking teachers. And two of them have four meisters." Shima chatted while Todo was explaining the origins of exorcism.

"The same goes for Mr. Saburota, he's from that well-known household that are experts in Seals and Magical Barriers." Konekomaru added, while half-listening on the lesson since he already knew of the Exorcism History as preparation for becoming an Exorcist himself.

"It's kinda scary, ya know. The pressure is too much." Shima commented. He noticed how quiet Suguro was and looked at him glaring at someone in the front. He followed his gaze and saw Yukio's brother, sleeping in class. "Huh, he's still sleeping?"

"I know. It's irritating to look at, and the teachers seem to pay him no mind at all." Suguro clenched his fists on his desk, "We're here to learn while he's dozing off. That bastard."

The class went on with no problem, Todo ended it when it was time for the students to go home. He told the Okumura brothers to stay and waited for everyone else to go out of the room.

The doors closed and the room was left to the three.

"Hello, Okumura Yukio, Rin." Todo greeted again, while Rin rubbed off the sleep and pain from his head. "I'm the person Dr. Dragulesc sent to administer the DCR solution and your escort when you go to the KRC Laboratory for the experiments." He then brought out a packet with three dual-colored tablets in it.

"Oh, that looks like Dr. Akari's medicines." Rin noticed the tablets, it was the same ones that Dr. Akari administered for him to take, he was told to only take once a day in the morning, he stopped taking it when he started showing symptoms of coughing blood which was during his middle school days.

"He did? Do you still take them?"

"No. Dr. Akari stopped giving it to me when the medicine wasn't effective anymore, there were other medicines he gave but those were for headaches and such."

"Ah, those he gave you were probably DCR pills, much like this one, but of a lower level which made him stop you from taking it when it wasn't effective anymore." Todo frowned, the DCR experiments were exclusively for the KRC laboratory use, spearheaded by Dr. Dragulesc, he remembered Akari was one of his researchers in the laboratory but he retired years ago, he noted to discuss this to Dragulesc during next week's experiment.

Rin took the packet from Todo and he continued to explain, "Unlike what Akari gave you, this one should be taken before an attack occurs, like that headache that's been bothering you. Its effect is only short but will stop your demon cells from acting up, as for when an attack does occur-" he then looked at Yukio, "- try to keep him from losing consciousness and call me so I'll be able to inject him with it. But if it fails then he'll be out for a few hours or days depending on how strong the attack is. "

Yukio opened his mouth to ask, "Why only three? And can't we inject it ourselves?"

"This DCR experiment has not yet been introduced publicly to the Order, only the Grigori knows of it and the researchers back in the laboratory, it is still in its testing state. The risk of this experiment being stolen by other _factions_ is high, so it is better to keep it secret, considering the many uses and effects of this for mixed-bloods such as yourself. It can either reduce or regenerate-" Todo bit his lip, he wasn't supposed to tell them that, he hoped the two didn't catch up to what he was about to finish saying, "I can only give you three tablets for now."

Todo then left the room, Yukio though, caught what that slip up was, he was sure the teacher meant that the DCR experiment not only reduces demon cells but also regenerates them. Now he had doubts about what effects the tablets could do to his brother, and before he could tell Rin his thoughts, his twin already popped a tablet and gulped it without water.

"Nii-san!" Yukio called.

"What?" Rin asked.

"…Uh, how- how do you feel?"

"Hmm…" Rin could feel the headache disappearing like the pounding was softened and completely stopped. He gave Yukio a smile and a thumbs up. "Okay already."

"That fast?" Yukio asked rhetorically, he had never read about a medicine's effectiveness act that fast, the Order's experiments were scary to achieve those kinds of feat, but then again the Order deals with demons and such, and the DCR experiments were kept under radar, he recalled the teacher also said about other factions, what kind of factions did he meant, were they like the Order or something else.

When Yukio got out of his thoughts, he found himself being dragged by Rin outside the cram class' hallway, they met Suguro near the door where they got in, he was with two of their other cram classmates.

"Heya!" The pink-haired one greeted as he raised a motionless wave at them "I'm Renzo Shima, this is Miwa Konekomaru and you probably already knew Bon here." Shima gestured to his friends.

"Bon?" Both Rin and Yukio looked at Suguro, Suguro groaned, of all the things they could notice, it was his nickname.

"It's what they call me. Nevermind that, you're also studying to be an Exorcist?" Suguro asked Yukio. Meanwhile, Shima and Konekomaru were giving Rin curious looks. Rin noticed and forgot that he hadn't introduced himself to them yet.

"Oh yeah, I'm Okumura Rin. And this is-"

"Yeah, we know him, Yukio. The first-year representative, a top student. Great speech by the way." Shima interrupted, Yukio blushed with what he was being known for.

"Shima, you were actually paying attention back at the ceremony?" Konekomaru tilted his head in amusement.

"Why are you here?" Rin asked, "Were you waiting for us?" He joked.

"Umm, yeah actually." Rin oh'd at their answer, this was new to him. But they were probably waiting for Yukio since they look really surprised to see the top student in their cram class. Rin decided that this was his chance to get some friends too.

"Anyway, let's talk while we head back to the dorms." Suguro suggested and everyone agreed.

Konekomaru was at the front so he was the one to open the door back to the school. While they walked outside, the twins left the three at the front chatting, while they walked just a few steps behind them.

"Where are our dorms exactly?" Rin whispered at Yukio.

"Sir Pheles said it was room 216 at the Boys' Dormitory." Yukio whispered back.

"Hey, that's the empty room next to ours, sweet, it means you two got the whole room to yourselves." Shima looked back at them, the twins noticed the gap between them had gotten closer, the three must've felt bad how they weren't letting the two in their own conversation.

"Anyway, let's talk some Exorcist stuff. Isn't it weird that our teachers are such big-shots!? It's kinda' overwhelming."

"They are?" Rin asked, he really doesn't have any idea how to tell strong Exorcists apart, the only thing he knew was half of what Todo-sensei taught about the history of exorcism. And he was barely awake at that time too, no thanks to his headache. _(AN: ugh, Todo as a teacher haha, anyway its better than having another OC for you guys to remember)_

Suguro gave him a non-impressed look, "Obviously, Akari-sensei and Kirigakure-sensei are holders of four meisters- please don't tell me you don't even know what meisters are?"

Rin just gave him a sheepish smile. He then glanced at Yukio for help.

"An exorcist has five specializations and they are called meisters, specializing in four of them are hard to come by since it takes a lot of time studying, training and talent just to finish one." Yukio explained

"Specializing in all of them is even rarer, you can become the Paladin with it." Konekomaru added as he adjusted his glasses.

The five kept on chatting, they mostly explained to Rin some exorcist terms that he knew nothing of, he was even impressed at his younger brother to know of such, and they kept the conversation until they reached the boys' dormitories.

The three entered their own room, inside was another student but they didn't bother to introduce him since the student was obviously not too social with people.

Rin and Yukio reached their own room, it had a plate engraved with the number 216 on it and it was at the far end of the hallway where the stairs are, fortunately, it was near the bathroom, each floor had its own bathroom, so it wouldn't be hard to go there.

Yukio was the one to twist the knob but it was locked, Rin frowned at that and told him to visit the headmaster for the key, "Maybe he forgot to give it to us?" He asked.

They heard the small tapping of footsteps nearing them and saw Mephisto in his dog form again, he was biting two normal-looking keys.

Yukio bent down to pick it. "Uh, thanks, sir."

The door to their room opened, filled with a mound of unopened boxes and the luggage they brought with them, there were two bunk beds on both sides and two desks between it facing the window.

As Rin closed the door, Mephisto went in with them and reverted to his normal form, "So how was your first day at cram classes?"

"It's interesting, Sir Pheles." Yukio answered.

"Uhh, it's okay, I guess." Rin responded.

"Very well. I have a question though, who did Dragulesc send?"

Yukio and Rin looked at each other as if they were trying to communicate telepathically if it was alright to tell the headmaster, but Todo-sensei didn't mention anything about it.

"It was Todo-sensei."

Mephisto nodded calmly, but inside he was surprised, he expected it was Akari since he was once a KRC researcher under Dragulesc, and he assumed Todo was only there to monitor the twins' activities while Shura does the same and replace Fujimoto. But if Todo was the one who Dragulesc sent, then who sent Akari?

"Well then, students. I shall take my leave." Mephisto didn't disappear followed by a puff of smoke but instead left the room normally, he opened the door only to be greeted by a pink-haired student he knew.

"Oh, your friends are here Okumura brothers."

"G-good evening, Headmaster." Konekomaru greeted, who was behind Shima.

"Good evening too, don't stay up too late now, we have a curfew to follow." Mephisto walked away, taking the stairs near the room down.

Suguro joined the three outside the twins' doors, "Was that the headmaster? Why was he here?"

Yukio called them in so they won't stay outside, "He just gave us our dorm keys, and uhh… explained the dorm rules, anyway, why are you guys here?"

"We're here to give you a helping hand." Suguro grinned and pulled up his sleeves, "Sorting out those boxes would be hard for just the two of you, believe me, these supplies the school gave are a lot, we had a lot of trouble sorting it out with four of us in our room the first time this morning."

Rin got curious about what was inside the boxes and opened some of them, fishing the content inside, "Oi look Yukio, we got our own sheets and stuff!" He happily pulled out the sheets.

"Oi, you need to open those first." Suguro charged and pointed at the long boxes near the desks, "Those are bed foams, if you pull out the contents of the others it'll be a mess to sort everything out."

* * *

Mephisto's office door opened after someone knocked, an Exorcist teacher entered his office, one of his eyes are covered with an eye-patch.

"Ah, Nehaus-sensei, I'd like your opinion on the matter."

Nehaus walked towards the vacant chair at the front of Mephisto's messy paper-work filled table. Before he sat down, he brought out a few documents he was told to look at and placed it over the already full-of-papers table.

The documents were copies of application forms and work experiences of three newly assigned teachers for the cram school that Mephisto asked him to bring out.

"I have my doubts focused on Akari, but Saburota Todo's records also stand out, he's also currently one of the wardens of the Deep Keep, so during the day he stays there. His connection with Dr. Dragulesc is questionable, they don't seem to have anything in common nor is he a researcher of KRC laboratory."

"And what of Akari?"

"Akari retired fourteen years ago and became a regular doctor at True Cross Town Southern Hospital. He was transferred to the western branch just before revealing the spawn of Satan to the order. He applied here as a teacher as a part-timer."

"What was his reason for applying?"

"I thought you knew, weren't the teachers' supposed to undergo an interview with you around?"

"For regular applications, yes. But his application was arranged by the Order so there were no interviews and such measures involved. These three, " Mephisto pointed a hand on the documents over his table, "were arranged by the Order. Kirigakure Shura is Fujimoto's replacement, I found out earlier that Saburota Todo is Dragulesc's errand boy, so that leaves Akari which we know nothing of his purpose here."

"Isn't he just another teacher then?"

"Tut tut tut, Nehaus-sensei, he is a doctor, for a regular hospital at that. His job requires him to be on standby twenty-four hours yet he took part of his time to be an exorcist teacher here."

Then Nehaus realizes something, "You said the Order arranged Akari's application but isn't he supposed to be retired?"

Mephisto poofed up a small gong and banged it, "You finally got it!" Nehaus' eye twitched at the useless effort the demon had to waste his power on. "We have ourselves a mole in our presence. Keep an eye out for him, and I'll keep my eye on Todo, those experiments have me intrigued, let's see how things play out."

_Author's Notes:_

_Thank you Aaelyn, writergirl142, BeadDLiwet and Arisa risarisarisa for leaving reveiws! Hope you like this chapter too._

_Okay if you haven't read the latest chapter (116) then don't read beyond this point._

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_"I don't think you understand how important this Key is, your demon heart is in it, it's the core of your power, the equivalent of your life. If you give it to me then you might as well be giving your own life away." -Mephisto said in this fanfic. I'm going to assume that the demon heart isn't their heart that beats in their body, I'd like to think of it as a power source for it since it has its own form representing the power of a demon, Amaimon's heart is a beautiful flower while Rin's and Satan are eggs(?) which has a crown like top._

_Also, I am screaming internally at the whole chapter 116, my god, they didn't hesitate to kill helpless baby Yukio and they shot baby Rin. Oh and even though Rin's the mc of the series, I am much more intrigued of what's gonna happen to Yukio._


	7. Not a fan of PhysEd

**Chapter 7: Not a fan of PhysEd**

Regular classes had started and Rin was in Class D, he was classmates with Shima and had some minor classes with his other cram classmates, surprisingly, Physical Education was shared by two classes, Yukio's class where Suguro was also in it and his.

PhysEd was the last class for the day, and their teachers took them to the same field where Rin had a run after the opening ceremony.

They performed a few exercises, most of them were warm-ups and stretches. The two teachers had grouped the two classes together and told them to go to the starting point of the track field.

Rin's teacher called him out and told him to stay behind due to his medical problem, he wanted to protest but didn't since Yukio was glaring daggers at him already, he sighed in defeat and walked back to the shed that his class were using, he sat there, crossed-legged on the ground, alone as he watched the teacher for the advanced class give them instructions of what to do, some of his classmates were looking at him. One of them even asked why he was there, so the teacher had to tell them that he was sick and couldn't join.

Rin felt uneasy at the stares his classmates and the other class was giving him, he hoped the teacher didn't tell them about everything especially the symptoms, he did not want his classmates to freak out about it.

He saw Shima left the class too and was walking towards him, the pink-haired classmate was smiling at him, looking proud at something he did.

The teacher blew the whistle and the students had started their run around the track, "What are you doing here?" Asked Rin.

"I told them I have a headache and they let me take a rest. It was a lie though, I just don't wanna sweat much since we have cram classes after." Shima plopped down next to Rin, his legs sprawled out in front of him on the ground. He leaned back lazily, using his hands to support his weight. "The teacher told us you were sick."

"Oh. What else did she say?"

"Not much, she just told us you can't do exhausting stuff." Shima watched the class run for a second time around the field. Rin sighed in relief.

"Is it something embarrassing?"

"Huh? What is?"

"You're illness, you looked really relieved. I mean, it's okay if you don't wanna talk about it, man. But I am curious."

"Uh…it's not really embarrassing," Rin told him, he was curious to know Shima's reaction if he did know, would he still be friends with him or be scared to take on such a handful classmate, the reactions from his middle school classmates about his attacks left him troubled, to tell the truth. Eventually, they'll know about it and his friendship with them would be over. "Just…scared."

"Scared?" Shima pried, "Scared about what?"

The run around the track was over and the teachers gave them another set of instructions, "About how you'll react. Hey, look the teachers are calling us. Let's go."

Rin stood up immediately before Shima could even respond to his answer, Shima shrugged it off since he would be annoying to Rin if he continued to ask about it.

* * *

Shima and Rin walked out of the school building together and Konekomaru joined them half-way when they were looking for a door to use. They arrived at the cram classroom and was surprised at the new face in the room, it was a girl, she had short blonde hair with green eyes, oddly, she was wearing a kimono which caught everyone's attention. To Rin, what surprised him most was that she was having a friendly, too friendly, conversation with Yukio.

So to give his brother privacy he walked on the opposite desk across them, while Shima and Konekomaru proceeded to the back where Suguro was already sitting.

Yukio noticed Rin's presence and passed by him as he walked towards the opposite side, "Nii-san?"

Before Rin could reach on his new desk, he pulled both his arms up and signed him a 'stop' gesture, then he formed a thumbs up, with a toothy grin beaming at him.

Yukio understood what that gesture meant and flushed, Rin had gotten the wrong idea here, Yukio placed a hand on his forehead, he was going to get teased by Rin non-stop for this. Yukio shook his head at him while Rin nodded at him.

The gestures that the twins were sending at each other surely took the class' attention, it was a rare sight of twin telepathy that most have heard of, they were all amused at it.

Except for Suguro who shouted from the back. "What are you two doing?"

And to the oblivious new student. "Uhm...Um what's happening?"

One of the female students who sat at the opposite side in the middle groaned at their stupidity, she had purple-colored hair which stands out and unique eyebrows "Can't you tell? They're having twin telepathy!"

Suguro snapped his head at the girl, "A what?"

"Huh? You don't know what twin telepathy is? And I thought you were smart."

The other female who sat with her tried to stop her, "Izumo, you didn't need to sound rude."

Suguro's fists clenched but before he could counter the girl named Izumo, the new student gasped.

"Yuki-chan! Is he Rin?" She asked in an unusually happy manner.

"Pft! Yuki-chan…" Rin clamped his mouth shut using his hand from laughing, meanwhile, Shima was snickering quietly at the background and both Suguro and Konekomaru were just confused at the scene.

The new student stood from her seat and ran towards Rin, she shakily brought out a hand for him to shake, Rin was surprised yet again by her action and took the hand to shake back.

"I-I um, Sir Fujimoto helped me the other day and he told me about you and how you want to be an Exorcist even when you were sickly, and thought I could do it too." She was still holding Rin's hand and kept shaking it.

Rin's eyes widened, he didn't want more people to know about his _illness _and hoped the rest of the class didn't hear her. Rin eased her hand to stop shaking because it was getting awkward, she noticed it and tugged her hand back and blushed in embarrassment, "I- I'm sorry, I didn't notice."

"Uh, it is okay…you are?"

"Ah! I'm Moriyama Shiemi!"

The door to their classroom opened and a new teacher entered, she was a woman of older age, her ash-blonde hair was tied up into a bun, "Alright class, I'll be teaching you Grimoire Lit, call me Angeline-sensei!" She sang.

Shiemi took the seat behind Yukio, and seeing that Rin's seat was vacant, he returned back to sit on it.

While the lesson was starting, Konekomaru started a conversation at the back, which surprised Shima because he or Suguro usually starts it. "You heard her right? She said _Fujimoto_."

Suguro leaned back to hear the two behind him properly since he was sitting at the seat in front of them. And since he can't really talk knowing the teacher can see him, he scribbled down on his notes and showed it to Konekomaru and Shima.

"Do you mean the Paladin?" The note says.

Izumo was called by the teacher to read a passage on the book, Konekomaru leaned forward making it look like he was reading the same passage from the book, Shima didn't really care but opened the book so he'll look like he was paying attention.

"Yeah, could it be him? The new student did say he helped her." Konekomaru explained.

Suguro scribbled again, "But wasn't he transferred to the Vatican?"

"Maybe it's just another guy named Fujimoto, we can always ask Rin and his brother for it. The guy must know them since he knows about Okumura Rin being sick." Shima whispered back.

Suguro stood up when the teacher called him, he read another passage from the book.

"Sick? Is Okumura-kun sick?" Konekomaru asked.

"Yeah, the teacher even pulled him out of PhysEd, says he couldn't exhaust himself much. Told us it was the Doctor's order."

Konekomaru frowned, "Wouldn't that be troublesome if he becomes an Exorcist?"

Shima hummed and watched Suguro took a seat after reading the passage, the next student to read was the quiet guy behind everyone, who sat at the furthest seat in the back, the blonde squinty-eyed student stood up, a puppet in his hand and started to read the continuation of the passage, the puppet's mouth moved and everyone, except the three boys at the back, was surprised at the creepy display of his ventriloquist skills. "I never thought about that, maybe he's going to take a Doctor meister, it's the only meister I can think of that requires the least energy."

Suguro scoffed, "You think that-" he nudged a shoulder towards the front students, "-is going to pass as a Doctor?" In front of them, Rin was dozing off again, Shiemi noticed and tapped Yukio, he shook Rin up and he awoke.

The exorcism classes rolled by the end of the day, it was composed of three different subjects, alternating every day except Sunday, the first-years are called Pages, and they've met most of their teachers already.

The cram classes only started three days ago but It was like a routine already that the boys, minus the ventriloquist, walked back to their dorms together.

Now, they had an additional student. Shiemi Moriyama joined them.

"Are you staying at the Girl's dormitory, Shiemi-chan?" Shima asked, evening his pace with Shiemi since it looked like she felt out of place. "We can take you there, we got dismissed earlier because the teacher's got called."

"Uhm. No, Shima-kun." Shiemi flushed when Shima called her -_chan_.

"So… how'd ya get to know her, Yuki-_chan_?" Rin teased, Yukio let out an exasperated sigh, was his brother really starting a conversation like this with everyone around? It was embarrassing and a little awkward. "Is she… a girlfrie-!"

"She's a friend, Rin!" Yukio butted before his brother could finish the word. "I met her last month at the Exorcist Supply Shop."

"Exorcist supply shop? Isn't that supposed to be strictly for Exorcists?" Suguro asked he was curious how involved the twins' were in the world of Exorcism. Like him, Konekomaru and Shima, their family works with the Order so by extension they were indirectly involved with the Exorcist world.

"Uhm yes! It's my family's business. Sir Fujimoto took Yuki-chan there last month with him." Shiemi answered.

"Who?" Suguro asked.

Yukio panicked, his Dad was the Paladin, and ever since the trial, there were some loose rumors circling around with the exorcist teachers about the event at the confinement cell, Suguro was smart enough to connect a few things just from tidbits of information even if it were lies. He needed to change the subject, if the headmaster said that there were others who wanted his brother, then his life was in danger "He is our adoptive father, anyway-" he looked at Shiemi, "-do you have a key to go home? I have one here, we can use it if you want."

"Uhm, no not yet, the headmaster was supposed to give it to me, but he may have forgotten." Shiemi fidgeted, "I-uhm wanted to ask you about it since it was…ki-kinda late to go to the headmaster now."

"Hey! Let's go together!" Rin piped in excitedly. "I want to see what the Exorcist Supply Shop looks like."

"Yeah, we want to go too!" Shima reinforced.

"I-I like to know what it looks like too, we heard it's only accessible using a key because of the barriers." Koneko piped in.

Yukio hesitated, "Alright, but we can't enter the shop itself, it's restricted for Exorcist, and we're still Pages." Though Yukio has clearance he didn't want to tell them.

Suguro remained quiet at their exchange, wondering why Yukio looked like he wasn't fond of talking about their father. But instead of thinking deeply about it, he brushed it off and excitement took over as the group entered the door to the Exorcist Supply Shop.

The orange-tinted sky greeted them and the breeze blew through like a wave, they were so high up in the towering structure that connected two buildings through a bridge. They could see the other buildings of the Academy from where they were unlike on the ground. There was a house at the end of the bridge, and a forest-like garden next to it.

"Woah!" Suguro and Konekomaru chorused.

"This is awesome!" Shima shouted his excitement.

"Look! It looks like I'm flying! Hahaha." Rin stood on one leg and spread his arms open, his untucked uniform, his small school sling bag, and his hair fluttered with the wind. Shima did the same and they laughed like a bunch of little kids.

Both Suguro and Yukio had to resist to facepalm at their childish behavior.

Shiemi giggled at them for enjoying the little things. "We can stay in the garden, it's not restricted there and we can have tea. My mom would like to meet my classmates too." She suggested.

"Uhm… Shiemi its alright, you don't need to bother about it." Yukio spoke.

"Hey! If it's okay with her Mom, why not? " Rin asked. Yukio expected Rin wouldn't able to notice it but they were all guys, and Shiemi the only girl, what her Mom would think if Shiemi hangs out with guys this many. And they only met hours ago too. They were practically strangers.

And as if on cue, Mrs. Moriyama went in the door they came in, "Shiemi?" She asked once she peeked over the male students whose backs are facing her.

"What are you doing to my daughter!?" She panicked as she saw the boys looked like they were towering over her.

Yukio jumped to the side gaining attention. "Uhm! Good afternoon, Mrs. Moriyama, they are students of the Exorcist Cram Class. We were just bringing Shiemi home since she doesn't have a key yet." He explained instantly.

Mrs. Moriyama relaxed as she saw Yukio. She thanked the guys and asked them to have tea in the garden since they're not allowed inside the shop, she wanted to know the kids Shiemi was spending time with.

The sun hasn't set yet but it wasn't hot so the garden was a cool place to sit on, Mrs. Moriyama told them to bring out the table from the Shed nearby but the students insisted that sitting on the ground was enough and it looked like they were having a picnic.

Mrs. Moriyama did small talks but was actually already interrogating the group, being over-protective of Shiemi, this caused Shiemi to be embarrassed. Her mother was content with what she knew and was comfortable to leave her daughter with the male students, she left the group in the garden and went inside the shop.

"Its okay Shiemi, your mother is just really worried." Konekomaru explained since Shiemi won't stop apologizing. The kid then looked around and saw the wonders of having a temptaint. He saw little green demons around the garden, they looked tame and there was also a flower-like demon in a pot.

_'In a pot.'_ Konekomaru studied demons before he can even see them, from books and the internet, and that tamed demons were rare since it requires a powerful exorcist to do it, else they were special, much like Shrine deities and Guardians.

Suguro also noticed the little demons in the garden, curiosity made him ask, "Moriyama-san, why are their demons here? Isn't that supposed to be a warding gate?" He thumbed at the metal fence around the garden since he was facing the opposite of it.

"Oh, they're greenmen and the flower is a Dekalp, Sir Fujimoto tried to exorcise it but decided to tame it instead and made it the garden's warden. The greenmen are there to keep the Dekalp company, he summoned them, they also help with tending the garden."

Yukio choked at his tea, he was trying to avoid talking about his father, but Shiemi just blurted it out.

"Ah, your Dad's an exorcist?" Suguro asked at the twins' since they were sitting together.

"Uh-huh," Rin confirmed and Yukio resisted to slap him on the back of his head for not being careful.

"He must be very powerful then-" Konekomaru remarked while rubbing the teacup with his thumb.

"Oh, he is! He's the paladin." Shiemi added.

Rin sprayed the tea in his mouth, and Yukio slapped a hand on his forehead.

That's one secret out.

"What!?" The three boys chorused.

"The old man's the Paladin!?" Rin shouted to his side, wiping off the tea he just wasted.

"Wait. He's your Dad but you don't know!?" Suguro whipped his head to Rin giving an incredulous look.

"I-uh… well, I only knew of Exorcists and Demons existed last week so..." Rin trailed off then returned to look back at Yukio, "And you didn't tell me!?"

"The topic never came up?" Was what Yukio replied, Rin gave him a distrustful stare, how much lies does Yukio had to keep from him.

"How- how many more lies are you keeping from me!?"

Yukio thought about it, "The clergymen are also Exorcists. I think that's all."

Rin gasped, finally realizing that his whole life was revolving around Exorcists and Demons since the beginning, only he was kept out from it. But a part of him expected it since he had demon blood coursing through his veins after all.

"Hey, our family is like that too." Shima shared, "We three live in a Buddhist temple back at Kyoto. And everyone we know there works for the Order."

"Yeah. They kept it a secret from us since we can't see demons, but we knew after we overheard one of Shima's brother talk about it." Suguro added. "But that does explain your stupidity when it comes to Exorcist terms."

"Hey!" Rin whined.

"That's okay Okumura-kun, we'll help you out." Konekomaru told Rin, then looked at Yukio, "The same goes for you too, Okumura-kun, we'll help look out for your brother."

Shiemi giggled at the names Konekomaru called the twins, it was confusing and funny at the same time. "It's confusing if you call them by their last names, Miwa-san."

"Shiemi's right," Yukio agreed," just call us by our first names."

Konekomaru nodded, "Oh-Okay then. Yukio-kun. Rin-kun."

Rin beamed at him, it was one of the few things to happen in his life, another classmate calling him using his first name and not some nickname the class decided to give him.

"Tss. You're Okumura, " Suguro pointed the empty teacup at Rin then to Yukio, "And you're Okumura-kun."

"Hey! Hold up, why don't I get an honorific?" Rin asked, leaning towards Suguro.

"You get to earn my respect first, Okumura." Suguro explained and then smirked at him. "Heh."

The sun's orange beam reflected Yukio and Konekomaru's glasses, indicating that it's time to head back to their dorms before the night creeps in.

The group stood up and started to clean the ground they sat on, the boys helped with placing back the potted plants that they moved aside. While Shiemi returned the teacups inside. Yukio was near the greenmen when one of the demons noticed him and they all scattered away, he noticed the reactions and thought of the necklace he was still wearing. He felt a little bit sad at what it caused since the greenmen left the Dekalp alone.

The Dekalp couldn't move from the pot that Shiro bounded him on. It was forced to a contract of becoming this garden's and its owners' protector, so when it felt the strong push of the charm Yukio wore, causing the greenmen who kept it company ran away, It immediately identified it as a threat.

The flower demon grew big, its roots encasing the pot it sat on and then lunged its leafy appendages towards Yukio. Yukio stepped back and tripped, causing him to dodge the vines above him.

"What the hell happened to it!?" Suguro shouted. While Shima and Konekomaru stood behind him.

Rin saw the plant demon drag itself towards Yukio, so the most logical thing he could do was pick up a fallen tree branch nearby and struck the plant hard, the branch broke from the force where the splinters scattered away, causing the plant to tumble sideways and Rin falling on the ground after he outbalances his self from the action. Yukio pushed himself back up and reached for his brother, lifting him up to a stand.

"Nii-san, why did you do that!?"

"The hell you ask why? Obviously cuz that thing's gonna attack you!" Rin frowned at the incoming headache.

The Dekalp took time to prop itself up so the Kyoto trio was able to pull the twins away from it.

"What did you do!?" Suguro asked Yukio.

"It must have reacted to my warding necklace. I didn't expect it to attack me since it could ward off low-leveled demons."

"Well, it's not low-leveled anymore!" Suguro looked back at the growing Dekalp that was dragging itself towards them.

Konekomaru adjusted his glasses, "If I remember correctly, Dekalp are kin of the Earth King, most of its fatal verses are found in both a few chapters of the Bible and few in The Sutras."

"Very helpful Konekomaru. We don't have time to look for it you know." Shima told him.

The Dekalp was getting nearer. If only Yukio had his guns this time, he thought of throwing the necklace away, so he pulled it from his neck and waved it at the demon, but the demon has set its eyes on Rin now.

The doors of the house slammed open and Shiemi stood in front of the plant.

"Moriyama, what are you doing!?" Asked Suguro. He was ready to pull the girl back but stopped when she shouted.

"Stop! They're my friends! They're not going to hurt anyone!"

The Dekalp froze and now its attention went to the necklace Yukio was carrying.

"The… the necklace, Yuki. Throw it out of the warding gate." Rin muffled followed by a strained inhale, the group looked at him who was covering half of his lower face with both of his hands. Yukio followed and threw the necklace outside.

The Dekalp then shrank back to its flower form, the pot still intact. Shiemi sighed and lifted the pot back to its place and the little greenmen scrambled back to the Dekalp.

"Wow, Shiemi, it followed your orders." Shima whistled in awe. Both Konekomaru and Suguro was surprised.

"Oh, it's not me. Sir Fujimoto bounded them to a contract to protect the garden and me and Mom, in addition, they follow my orders." Shiemi gave them a cheeky smile she then saw Rin dropping to his knees while Yukio supported him upright.

"Yuki-chan! What's wrong with Rin-kun!?" Shiemi cried and ran towards them, the Kyoto group looked back and saw the scene.

"It's nothing to worry -" Rin mumbled over his hand, "Shiemi." His eyes closed like he was trying to smile at her.

It was obvious Rin wasn't alright, he was turning paler than normal, and the Kyoto group with Shiemi circled around him, asking him what's happening. Yukio was busy searching inside Rin's bag with his other hand.

"Suguro-kun, can you hold him up? I need to look for something in his bag, I can't do it with one hand. Please." Yukio begged since Suguro seem to not know what to do to help, he nodded and Rin's weight shifted sideways towards Suguro's. Rin's head craned to the side and then beads of blood seeped out of the hand covering his nose and mouth.

"What the hell, Okumura!?" Suguro panicked at the sight of blood. Konekomaru and Shima fidgeted as they worried over their classmates while Shiemi went to her Mom to ask for help.

"Rin! Where is your medicine!?" Yukio panicked too since he couldn't find the medicines Todo-sensei gave them. Yukio could see that Rin is having muscle fatigue, the third symptom before coughing blood and having a full swing of his attack, if this keeps up and can't take the pill he'll be stuck with the headache and fatigue for hours.

"Why is there so much blood!?" Suguro shouted.

"Suguro-kun, Miwa-kun, can you prop Rin to lean forward so his nose bleed won't stain his uniform? This will help drain the blood. " Yukio ordered.

"Nii-san! Where is it?"

Suguro grabbed Rin's right shoulder while Miwa held on the other, they supported Rin to lean forward. Both teens noticed the lack of strength from him. Rin let go of his face, his hands tried to reach for anything to help support his weight but instead fell limply at his side, the blood dropped freely on the ground, creating small pools on it. "It's in the side pocket, the small one." He answered. Blood trickled out from his mouth that flowed from when he was covering his nose.

Everyone, except Yukio, was horrified at the sight of the amount of blood.

Mrs. Moriyama rushed out carrying an ice pack and a towel while Shiemi was carrying a pitcher filled with water and a cup.

"Found it!" Yukio shouted, pulling up the packet with one pill left. He saw that the blood from Rin's nose was draining already.

As soon as the blood from his nose was drained, he was pulled back up again by Suguro and Miwa, this time Mrs. Moriyama ordered it. The only adult in the group took the towel and cleaned the blood from Rin's face, she then told the boys at each side to balance him upright, it was hard for the two to do it since Rin didn't have any strength, that was when Shima decided to help and placed his arms behind Rin's back so he could use to support on it. Mrs. Moriyama placed the ice pack over Rin's nose bridge and let it rest for a few minutes. Yukio told Mrs. Moriyama that Rin should take the pill.

While everyone was pitching in to aid him, Rin couldn't help but think of the reactions his classmates would give him after this. They're helping him for now since they're here but what if it happens again and they pretend not to notice so they won't have to bother helping. They'll ignore him like the classmates he had during middle school. They don't need a handful classmate, he knows that and tried to avoid it but Yukio was in trouble, he needed to take action.

So much for getting new friends.

This was the same as what happened with Yukio's bullies, this time it was a demon. _'Nii-san, to be an Exorcist requires you to fight demons, you'll risk having attacks'_, Yukio's warning echoed inside his mind. He winced, the headache worsening as he keeps on thinking, he wanted to lie down and sleep it off like before. A long, long rest so when he wakes up the pain subsides.

"-ii-san! Nii-san! Stay awake! You need to take your medicine!" Rin's blue eyes trailed towards Yukio, then down to his hand which had a pill and a cup of water on the other. Rin opened his mouth and Yukio placed the pill inside and pulled up the cup of water.

Rin drank it aware of how pathetic he must look like to his classmates, needing assistance just to take his own medicine.

Rin stilled, closing his eyes as he felt the pill's effect countering the pain he felt. Yukio and the rest of the group fell into a deafening silence as they waited for Rin to react.

"Did he fell asleep?" Shiemi quietly asked.

The Kyoto trio felt the weight lessen up and they all let go of Rin together. Rin balanced his self as he felt the strength returning to him, dropping down to sit on his legs instead of on his knees. Rin's complexion slowly returned to normal but his eyes were filled with worry. "Uh… Thanks and s-sorry you had to see that." He whispered while avoiding everyone's eyes.

Knowing that Rin was alright now, everyone sighed in relief. That was extremely nerve-wracking and scary. Mrs. Moriyama stood up and took the towel and the pitcher back inside.

"I-is that what the teacher said when you couldn't exhaust yourself too much?" Shima asked Yukio. And then looked back at Rin.

Rin scratched his cheek, "Yeah. I saw Yukio in trouble, I had to act fast. Striking that thing with the tree branch was the only thing I could think of." He then looked down at the mess he made, "I…Uhm I'll clean this up."

"Just rest, Okumura. We'll do it for you. " Suguro massaged his forehead, "That was scary. Remind us not to work you up too much."

Shima went over to the corner to pick up a shovel, he scooped up dirt and walked back to the group.

"You're not freaked out of me?" Rin asked, he watched as Shima hid the bloodstain on the grass by pouring the dirt over it.

"Man, dude, that was scary alright, but us freaked out by you? Why would you think of that? Sure it was tense, the blood was horrifying to look at and you being limp as a corpse was alarming-"Shima swung the shovel over his shoulder, "But you're not a freak. You're just sick, and uh, we'll help you to avoid it."

"Yeah, Rin-kun! We'll help you." Shiemi piped in.

Rin stared at them, shocked to hear what they said. They didn't think of him as a freak, hope sparked inside him.

"If you're sick and you want to be an Exorcist, then you know the consequences then?" Konekomaru probed.

"Yeah, yeah. Yukio already lectured me about it. " Rin answered, speaking of Yukio, he was quiet since taking the pill, he looked at his twin and he was… glaring yet again. Rin sweated as he anticipated a scolding from him. "As I said, you were in danger, I had to butt in."

"Yes, Nii-san. But there are other ways to do it. Like, maybe, if you just left me, I would just run towards the other side of the warding gate so the demon won't get me." Yukio said pragmatically, he sighed. "Anyway, thanks Nii-san but really, use your head next time so you can avoid these attacks."

"I know." Rin waved away the glaring from his brother.

"And you-" Suguro spoke from Rin's side, he looked at his classmate, ready to hear an earful speech too but instead it was directed to Yukio. Yukio was surprised at the accusing tone. "-why are you even wearing a warding necklace? You should have distanced yourself from the demons when you were wearing it."

Yukio opened his mouth, but he couldn't think of anything to counter it, Suguro was right, he should've distanced his self from the demons, they weren't doing anything wrong and it does look like he attacked the demons first. "Yes. Indeed, that was my fault. I apologize for the trouble I caused."

Rin gaped at the sight of Yukio admitting his fault. He thought Suguro looked awesome for being able to do that, until the same teen looked back at him. "And you! How the hell could you even lift that-" he pointed at the broken tree branch, "-that branch is as thick and looked as heavy as Koneko, but you were still able to lift it? Not to mention you're sick!"

"Uh-uhm …sorry?" Rin asked, not sure if Suguro was mad at him.

"-yes.. yes…they're here…" Mrs. Moriyama came out of the house while she was speaking on her phone, she walked to the students, focused more on the twins, "…He's alright, no need to fuss." She giggled at their conversation, "Shiro you're going to get old fast if you keep on worrying, I already told you they're fine."

Mrs. Moriyama told them that their dorm prefect had alerted the teachers that they were missing students, those missing students were currently in her garden, and now the school started to call their parents to know their whereabouts.

"Is it that late already?" Konekomaru asked then looked at his surroundings, it was already dark, they didn't notice it before because they were too focused on Rin.

"Oh." Shima opened his phone and looked at the time, "Oops, were an hour late after curfew. Oh look, I have three missed calls from the Prefect. Haha." He laughed it off.

Suguro opened his phone too and saw three missed calls from the prefect and his eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw twenty-four missed calls from his mom. He groaned.

"We should probably head back then." Yukio told the group. He pulled Rin up and steadied him when his balance was still off. "Can you walk, Nii-san?"

Rin tried to walk, this was the first time he recovered this fast from muscle fatigue. One leg out, he pushed his weight forward. He pulled the other, ready to take a step but his strength faltered. He wobbled for a bit, much like baby steps to the rest of the students.

Mrs. Moriyama saw the struggle and suggested that Rin should stay for the night, while the rest of the boys return back to their dormitory.

Rin was the only one who protested, he didn't want to intrude on someone's home, especially to someone that they just met. She insisted and also told him that Fujimoto is her friend, explaining to him that he wasn't much of a stranger than Yukio.

Mrs. Moriyama opened a door to the school, the boys went through it, except Yukio who wanted to stay by his brother.

The twins slept in the Supply shop's shed near the garden, Shiemi already had it ready since she used to sleep there.

* * *

Morning came and Shiemi knocked on the shed's door. It was Saturday and she could have left the twins to sleep more but there was someone in their shop looking for them.

The man introduced himself to Shiemi, he told her that he was a teacher in cram class, teaching History.

While Shiemi waited for the door to open, she looked back and the old man was waiting patiently outside the warding gate.

"Morning, Shiemi." Yukio greeted as he opened the shed's door, Shiemi had her attention behind her and Yukio followed her gaze. His eyes widened as he recognized the man over the warding gate. "Todo-sensei?"

_Author's Notes: haha, I actually just wanted this chapter to end with Shiemi getting back home, but the word count was too small so I ended it with the Kyoto Trio finding about Rin's illness...err symptoms, I mean they didn't ask about it lol_

_Review Responses:_

_IruMinO: I laughed at your description of Todo, I'm glad this story had you interested, I got this idea from how Lucifer and Satan are powerful demons and that the body they possess keeps getting destroyed, so what if it happened to Rin too when his heart was sealed, it was interesting and so this fanfic was born! :D_

_Arisa risarisarisa, RavenRechior,SN22, and that Guest: thank you for the reviews! Here's another chapter, hope you all like this one too._


	8. First Weekly Experiments

**Chapter 8: First Weekly Experiments**

_Review Responses (I have moved this to the top because of _Arisa risarisarisa's review_):_

_Arisa risarisarisa: I'm sorry, it gets worse from here. Oops. And I'm really glad that my writing of Rin's episodes isn't too hard to understand (or felt bulky(?) or stuffed), since I do tend to reuse some descriptive words from the previous chapter with his episodes. _

_IruMinO: Ooooh, you just gave me an idea for Chapter 10. Also, don't worry, Todo will still be Dragulesc's errand boy here but, yeah, he will still keep an eye on the twins but not in a creepy way. I find Todo creepy, maybe its how he interacts with Yukio in canon?_

_Chapter Warnings: Experimentation, Blood, Graphic Description of Rin's episode again, oh and Needles!_

* * *

_"Dialogue"_

_'Thoughts'_

**_"Other language"_**

* * *

Todo took them immediately to the Romanian Laboratory right after they woke up in the morning. Once inside the building, Rin complained that they haven't even showered yet. So Todo led them to the washrooms and gave them uniforms.

Yukio dried his self with a bath towel, he then picked up the uniform. The shirt was plain white, its sleeves were short and had a patch over the right side of its chest, most-likely used for a name-tag. The pants reached a few centimeters below the knee and had a black line on both sides with the name K.R.C. laboratory printed on it.

Rin got out of his own cubicle, he wore the same uniform that Yukio had. Both of them felt uneasy just looking at their reflections in the mirror by the wall.

"I feel like a patient from the psychiatric ward." Rin commented.

"What are they gonna do exactly?" Yukio asked mostly to himself. He then gathered their things, he folded their worn clothes and tried to fit all of it in Rin's sling bag since Yukio didn't carry a bag to cram school yesterday.

The two of them walked out of the washroom and saw no guards or anyone in the hall. Curiosity made them snoop around, passing by locked rooms, they reached a large entrance and the doors to it were open wide.

They stood at the edge of the entrance and peeked inside. There was abundant foliage growing in it. There were also people wearing black coats, similar to the Exorcist's uniforms. What caught most of their attention were the demons around the vegetation, the creatures were of different kinds, some of them were flocked together. The black coated people were even interacting with them.

"**_What are two young nephilim doing here on the demon farm?_**" The twins jumped at the voice behind them. The two twisted back to look at the owner of the voice.

It was a young man, he was taller than the twins, he had ginger-colored hair and wore the same black coat from the people inside. It took a while for Yukio to process what the man said as he was speaking in English, meanwhile, Rin was clueless at the language, he knew it was English but he wasn't able to understand it well.

The man frowned at the silence, he then looked at their name tags and saw no code in it, he also took note that the twins were foreigners and maybe that's why they can't answer. "**_Ah, new arrivals, you two must be lost. What are the guys from the Sanctuary doing? They should be keeping an eye on you._**"

Yukio understood the man, but he acted like he didn't, he wanted to hear more of what the man would say. Rin tugged Yukio's uniform and they saw that some of the people inside the demon farm had surrounded them, most were towering over them.

Both Rin and Yukio felt so small being surrounded by people.

"**_Oh, isn't this uniform from the Anti-Demon Research Division?_**"

"**_They're nephilims._**"

"**_Aren't they too young to undergo testing?_**"

"**_They must be special._**"

"**_There they are!_**"

Another voice shouted from afar, they looked at where it came from and five people came running towards them. Four of them had the same uniform, it looked similar to a guard's uniform while the other one was Todo-sensei.

Todo panted from running, "Don't just walk off on your own! "

* * *

Rin and Yukio were taken to different rooms. Todo had returned to Japan and told the twins that he'll pick them up after the experiment. Rin was led inside the room where his experiments would take place, the room was circular and very spacious, it had a high ceiling, there were mirrors around it and a large one above, Rin knew those were windows where people can see inside but not the other way around.

There were also various machines in the corner, one metal chair at the center and beside it was an operating table. Rin gulped when he saw that, it looked like the torture rooms in movies. He caught sight of the different DCR solutions sorted out over a table, and also the various medical instruments that made him shiver.

The room itself was alarming and Rin wanted to get out but before he could take a step back, six researchers entered the room and one of them was Dragulesc. They brought in another large machine, it had tubes sticking out of it, from where the tubes start were different cylinders each had roman numerals printed on their side.

The five researchers wheeled the large machine near the chair while Dragulesc was left to interact with Rin, mostly to explain what they were going to do with him. They were going to start with asking questions about the demonic changes to Rin's partial awakening, the last time the researchers were testing Rin, he was unconscious, so now was the perfect time to get some answers.

The questioning took hours, the researchers took most of the time to scribble down his answers, if only they didn't do that then the questions would be quicker to finish. Rin felt his stomach grumbling, after Todo-sensei dragged them here, they forgot to eat breakfast. He thought back to Yukio who was probably done with his testing, since he was just going to do some blood tests, if he ate already and is doing fine and not in a similar place like the one he is held in.

A knock on the only door of the room took Dragulesc's attention and it opened even before he gave approval. The door opened and a lady in a white coat appeared, behind her were two of the guards that came looking for them.

"Professor Dragulesc-" the lady called monotonously, not batting an eye other than the Doctor, "- It's lunchtime."

Dragulesc wanted to ignore the woman, lunch can wait but his experiments can't, they were supposed to start with testing his strength and after that his power.

_"**The Grigori is watching.**"_ The lady spoke in Romanian.

Cautiously gazing over the glass mirrors, Dragulesc signaled his team to take a break. He was not allowed to abuse the child despite being a demon, he could only do his experiment in a _civilized_ way, and that includes respecting the basic needs of the child.

* * *

After the researchers assigned to Yukio took his blood, he was sent to his assigned room. The researchers told him that he can wait there until his brother's experiments are finished and can go back to Japan with Todo-sensei.

Two guards escorted Yukio to his temporary room, the researcher briefly mentioned that he was allowed to roam around as long as it's within the Anti-Demon Research Division. During the walk, Yukio caught sight of what looked like a common room, it was filled with people wearing the same uniform as his, only theirs had name tags on it, it was a combination of letters and numbers, he noticed that most of the numbers didn't reach up to three and that all the people inside were twice as old as he is.

_'Is that why those people said that we're too young?'_

The walk was too quiet and so he asked one of the guards, "Can I ask? What are nephilims?"

The guard, who walked beside Yukio gave him a confused expression, he was around his late twenties and had the same ginger hair under the cap he wore, Yukio repeated the question, this time in English as he sensed that the man had no idea what language he was talking about.

_"**Human's with high-demon blood.**"_ The guard answered, his accent was too thick that Yukio had to process what he said a lot longer to understand.

Yukio bumped into the other guard's back when he stopped. He gave a small sorry and looked at where they stood. The place they entered was filled with rooms separated from each other. Each room was divided by lanes and all had glass windows as big as the room itself on one side. _(AN: Okay, I'm terrible at describing places, just think of it as the cellar in the Thor movies where Loki was held captive, and that the glass windows are only on one side of it._) Some of the rooms were occupied by people with the same uniform as what he wore. He glanced at, presumably his own room since the guards didn't move, and that two plates were hanged on the door.

'SN-A-001'

'SN-A-002'

Yukio read it, from the outside, looking in through the large glass window, the room looked similar to the confinement cell, it had an AC unit and this time it had its own washroom and two beds.

Before Yukio could twist open the knob, a Japanese greeting took his attention away from the door and went to look for the source of the voice. Maybe it was just the lack of his language but to hear it in a foreign place made him want to interact with whoever that person was.

"Knew you were Japanese." The man grinned, he was big and muscular and as old as the guards, he wore the same white uniform and looked fairly normal until Yukio locked eyes with him then he noticed the odd color of the man's orbs. His iris had the color red and his pupils were pure white. The man walked towards him, ignoring the guards who were eyeing his movements. "You new here, kid? I'm Yusuke Tora." He held out a hand.

"Okumura Yukio." Yukio took the hand and shook it. His eyes landed on the man's name tag, it bore the code 'KOMA-D-001'

"You're heavily guarded, little guy." As he spoke, his voice didn't hide the concern it held, "It's gonna be lunch soon, let's go to the cafeteria, the guards won't bother stalking you in there."

Tora dragged Yukio out of the place, the guards quietly following behind. They arrived in the cafeteria after a few minutes and like what Tora told him, the guards stopped towering over him, instead took a table and sat a few distances from them.

Tora purposely chose the table where there were few people around it, the cafeteria was filled with both Exorcists, researchers and like _them_. What are they called? Experimental subjects?

"Why are you here, kid? This place isn't for children. Nephilim or not, the Order isn't like this." Tora spoke in a whisper-like manner. The concern Tora showed contradicts his image, he was a bulky muscular man, at first sight of him, one will surely be cautious of how they interact with the said man, less they want a fist flying towards them. "Are you an Exorcist?"

"I'm still a Page."

"A Page!?" Tora felt his blood boil, he wasn't a parent, nor harbor any parental feelings but to see a child in this place was wrong. "Then what are you doing here?"

Yukio felt a bit uneasy with the way Tora describes this place, "What exactly is _here_, Sir Yusuke?" Yukio knew he was going to have his blood tested, what he didn't expect was that he had to go through all _this_.

"You can call me Tora. This is the Anti-Demon Research Division of the KRC Laboratory, they produce weapons here to fight demons. _Here_ to be precise-" Tora tapped his index finger on the table, "is called the _Sanctuary_, they research about Nephilims and use _us_ to the Order's advantage, and only _Exorcists_ who are _Nephilims_ are allowed to undergo the experiment."

"Oh." Yukio paused to understand further what Nephilims are, "So Nephilims are half-demons?" He asked, the Nephilims Yukio knew of were from the Hebrew texts he once skimmed over.

"Yeah. But only those who have blood ties with _high-ranking demons_, no matter how diluted, are branded as Nephilims, the Order doesn't recognize common half-demons as such. " Tora crossed his arms, "Oh kid, you don't even know that but you're here, what was the Order thinking throwing you in here?" They're not doing anything bad to you, are they?"

"No. They only do blood tests and a physical check-up. What about you uh… Tora-san? Do you come here often?"

"Often? I practically live here now. I'm an Exorcist and the Order offered of a way to use any diluted demon blood to use it in a fight. Some of the Exorcists were against it but I took it. Before, my eyes were a normal black, but after they injected me with something, my eyes turned into the same ones a Komainu possess. After that, my tamer skills sky-rocketed, I was able to summon mid to high leveled demons easily. And I'm able to sense demonic presences too, all the while I stayed _human_. The downside of it is that I have to be constantly injected if I want to prolong the use of my abilities since the demon blood in me was too weak."

Tora noticed that the murmurs in the cafeteria had quieted. Everyone's attention was focused on the people at the entrance. There stood Dr. Dragulesc and a woman whom Yukio was familiar with, she was the same person who interrogated him back at the Vatican.

"Dr. Dragulesc and Ma'am Homare? It's rare to see them here in the Sanctuary." Tora saw a dark-haired kid behind the two, they conversed for a bit and the kid went in the cafeteria while the other two left, two guards replaced them and joined the table where Yukio's guards were sitting. "Another kid?"

Tora watched the kid looking around, he noticed him and then focused his attention to Yukio. The kid looked relieved and ran towards their table.

"Hey, Yukio!"

"Is the experiment finished?"

"No. Not yet. We're just taking a lunch break. There's still a lot more to do according to the Doctor."

"Oh. We're probably gonna miss cram school then."

Tora watched the two interact, his eyes trailing back and forth between them. He faked a cough to get their attention. "And who is this?"

Yukio realizes his company and gestured Rin to sit down with them. "Ah, this is my brother, Rin. Rin, this is Tora-san, we just met a few minutes ago."

Rin stared at the man's eyes, they were unique and scary at the same time. Tora felt the stares and he smiled at the kid to break it. "How about we get lunch now?" He suggested, Rin flushed when he realized he was staring too much.

"Y-yeah, let's go. I'm hungry, we haven't eaten breakfast yet." Rin complained.

The three went to get food, the food was free so Rin was so happy he could get anything he wanted, Yukio had to remind Rin countless times to only choose the food he wanted or could eat since the menu was all foreign to them.

"So, what are you two related to anyway?" Tora asked when they were half-way done with their meal.

Rin was still chewing his food so Yukio was left to answer the question. "Uh…we don't really wanna talk about it."

This made Tora raise a curious brow at them, "Well, it must be special that Dragulesc and Homare had to visit. They usually leave this place to his researchers. Not to mention you're both children. I saw your codes, it was classified as A, it's pretty rare to have a class A Nephilim you know. Most of the Nephilims here are between D and F since demons and human _interbreeding_ aren't practiced anymore."

Yukio choked on his food, "Are we really gonna talk about this during a meal?"

"Sorry. " Tora laughed when Yukio's face reddened, he turned his attention to Rin, "What experiments are they doing to you? If they're doing something bad, you can just tell me, we can report it to the higher-ups."

Rin swallowed his food and spoke, "Nah, the _higher-ups_ already know, I think they're here, I heard that lady mention the Grigori in their language."

"What!? The -" Tora paused, he then quieted his voice, "the Grigori is here? Where did they take you?"

"Hmm. It's a big and huge room with lots of mirrors… but I'm pretty sure they're windows though."

"Is it circular in shape? With heavy-metal like walls?"

"Yeah, that's it."

"The Tartarus Chamber!?" Tora may have spoken the last one a bit louder when the people around them had given them _fearful_ looks. Especially since the name of the chamber can be understood in any language.

Yukio felt the tension in the room drop, "Uhm, what's the Tartarus Chamber? Why are they reacting like that?" Both twins were already finished with their plates and now are focused on Tora's pending answer.

"It's used for testing powerful weapons, they use it mostly for artillery and grenades. They sometimes use it for testing powerful Nephilims in fear of them manifesting their own demon heart."

Yukio glanced at Rin who shrunk on his own chair now, playing with the empty plate using the spoon, "Can we not talk about this, Tora-san."

Tora noticed the change of expression and looked at Rin, "Are they doing something bad to you? Like I said we can report this to the higher-ups."

"You can't, " Rin spoke, eyes still on the plate. "The higher-ups ordered it."

"But-"

Yukio stopped Tora from questioning further, "Tora-san, can we talk about something else? Like…uhm the demon farm?"

The topic made Rin interested, he sat up straight and now dropped the spoon he was using to pick on the plate, "I want to know more about that, I haven't seen demons that many in one area and the people interacting with it."

The conversation went on for a few more minutes until Rin's own guards took him away from the table, telling him that lunch break was over and they need him.

* * *

As soon as Rin entered what he now know of as the Tartarus Chamber, Dragulesc took him and had put two bands around his arms, on the sides of the bands were holes and one of the researcher picked up two cylinder tubes from the machine with the symbol 'IV' on each.

Dragulesc took the cylinder and picked up a needle, he assembled the contraption and now looked like a huge injection, he slid the needle into the hole on Rin's band, the burning pain of the sharp object coursed around his arm, the same went with the other band.

Another researcher wheeled a machine that had two pull-up handles, "Try to pull this with everything you got, we will test how much strength you can use. Continue even if you feel the attacks coming in, the machine you're hooked up to has an alarm that will go off when your demon cells are shifting. The DCR solutions will automatically be pumped into your body to counter it."

Rin obeyed, he placed his trembling hands on both handles, he gripped it and pulled.

The researchers flocked around the machine which Rin was testing his strength on, there was a screen on the side that went unnoticeable to him since he was on the other side of it. The screen went from zero to double digits, the numbers went up then back to zero.

The headache made Rin draw back his strength, wincing when the hammering was worsening.

"**Continue.**"

Rin opened his eyes to look at the researchers, they were all giving him a disappointed look. "But-"

"It's either this Rin or the operating table."

Rin recoiled at the mention of the operating table. '_They wouldn't do that' _The Grigori had set the conditions. "You can't do that…" he whispered.

Dragulesc adjusted his monocle, "Indeed, we can't but only if you obey us. Now Rin."

Rin closed his eyes as he gripped the handles. And in one movement, he pulled it with all his might. The researchers' eyes went wide as the number of joules increased to three digits. The beeping alarm of the other machine connected to Rin's arm went off but before the DCR solutions could enter his body, Rin was already coughing blood. He released the handles and dropped down on to his knees, his arms trembling to balance himself. He wheezed after coughing out more blood so he can breathe.

The DCR solutions sloshed inside the cylinder as Rin was still bent down on the ground. The beeping alarm had slowed and Rin felt the pain recede back, the DCR solution had entered his body and stopping his attacks. He sat back up on his legs, gasping for air. He felt light-headed at the sudden change in his body.

_'Are we… done?'_

"Very good, Rin." Dragulesc smiled.

The researchers behind Dragulesc went over to Rin and pulled him up to stand since Rin had trouble doing it on his own. The researchers had dragged him towards the metal chair and sat him down.

Rin sighed desperately, then violently coughed out something that stuck inside his lungs, clearing his airways. He wiped his mouth clean with his arms, the remaining blood staining his skin. They waited a few more minutes until the alarm of the machine had stopped abruptly.

The researchers then pulled out four long contraptions, they placed it around Rin, shaping it into a square, each had a camera sensor on it.

"This will be used to scan you. This is how your brother is scanned physically." Dragulesc explained. The researchers had now distanced their selves from Rin. All of them huddled near the door. It made Rin wonder what they were going to do to him.

"Bring out your flames." Dragulesc ordered calmly.

"What? I can't do that."

"Don't worry, this place is equipped with security measures designed to counter fire demons, including your flames since it can be doused out using holy water."

"No, that's not what I meant. I -" Rin reasoned out. "I don't know how."

_'And even if I do, I don't want to…it hurts.'_

"You don't know how? Then how did you do it in the confinement cell? And back at the hospital?"

_'How?... It's because, that time…I was …I thought I was going to die...it scared me.'_

"I was…" Rin trailed off._ '…scared_?'

"Hmm? Very well." Dragulesc then reached out to a communicator near the door. He took it off from its case and spoke inside it. "**Homare-san**, **bring KOMA-D-001 in. Make him summon his Tanuki.**"

They waited until the door opened and Tora came in, behind him was the last person Rin wanted to see him in this experiment. Shiro Fujimoto walked into the room, his eyes lacked emotion and his arms were bound behind him.

Rin had a worried look while Tora sent him a pained expression.

Tora was told to do this, so he did, he followed Homare but he didn't expect the Tartarus Chamber and worse of all, Rin, who had bloodstains on his mouth and on his shirt.

Dragulesc gave Homare a signal and the woman pulled out a gun, then placed the muzzle on the side of Fujimoto's head at point-blank.

Tora stepped in, "What are you doing!?" he shouted. The researchers' stopped him, pulling him away from Homare and Fujimoto. "He's my fam-"

"Silence!" Dragulesc glowered at the man, everyone shuddered at the rare sight of the professor's temper. Tora decided to shut up.

"So Rin. Fujimoto's life is in your hands, bring out your flames or he dies."

"Wha- " Rin's heart leaped, the life of his old man now rested on his hands? This was so sudden, he focused, he tried to focus and bring out the flames, but all he felt was worry… and fear. "Old man! What are you just standing there for? There's a freaking gun on your head!" He cried.

Tora snapped his head at the Paladin, _'Old man?' _The realization stabbed him, this was not how the Order should do things, no matter how powerful the demon thar this kid was related to, this was wrong.

Homare pushed the gun closer to Fujimoto's head, the muzzle kissing his scalp.

"Stop!" Rin leaned forward, falling down on the ground as his legs still failed him.

"Rin, we can do this without anyone _dying_, if you just call out your flames, even just a little bit. The scanners here just need to read it." Dragulesc reminded, looking at the child sprawled over the floor.

_'I can't! It hurts.' _Rin thought as he tried to crawl his way towards Fujimoto, _'It hurts…'_

"Stop it please, I'll find another way to summon them…" Rin pleaded.

Dragulesc sighed at the sight while the researchers quietly pitied the kid. "Do it, Homare."

Homare pulled the trigger, together with the loud bang, Rin flared up, small fumes of blue flames crawled around him. Rin felt the flames coursing within him, his strength rushing in so fast that when he saw Fujimoto fall sideways, he propelled his legs and shot forward towards him in an attempt to catch his father.

Time seemed to stop as the kid exploded in patches of blue flames. The scanners beeping wildly as they read the fire. The blue engulfed child leaped forward to Fujimoto, the bands that held the cylinders was ripped off as it was pulled back by the machine it was connected to, blood splattered where the needle dug in his skin, as Rin reached said man a puff of white smoke burst out.

The smoke disappeared and everyone was terrified at the sight, Rin who was still bathed in small fumes of his blue flames, eyes squeezed shut as a few tears fell from his face was holding on to a… raccoon-dog demon as if his life depended on it, the demon tried to squirm out of the embrace, the flames burning the creature painfully.

_'Let go of me, your highness! Please, I beg you, let go! Do not kill me!'_

Rin opened his eyes as he felt an unfamiliar form within his embrace, he looked at the demon in his arms, being burned as it pleaded for his life. Rin let go of the demon and he backed away from it, hitting a table behind his back. He took in the damage he did on the demon, its fur was burned, and its skin mostly turned necrotic, and the creature was barely breathing. It was… dying. He didn't have time to know why Fujimoto disappeared and a Tanuki replaced him, he was too drowned at the damage.

_'I'm dangerous!'_

The Tanuki stopped breathing and it disappeared much like the wolf back at the confinement cell, he turned his head up to where the researchers were and Tora, they all had the same expressions on their faces.

_'They're afraid of me.'_

He saw Homare walk towards him, her face unreadable.

"No! You need to stay back! I-I'm -" Rin couldn't utter the words.

_'I'm dangerous!'_

"Rin, you need to breathe!" Homare finally spoke, seeing as the kid was turning blue from the lack of air he was holding in.

The effects of the DCR solution were wearing off as Rin started to buckle forward, the kid's arms went limp as its strength gave in along with his flames receding back until none of it remained. Tears and blood mixed on the ground and he started coughing violently.

"**Get the DCR tubes!**" Dragulesc instructed, the researchers snapped back to reality and they all wheeled the machine near Rin, one of them took the bands and fitted it around Rin's arms. Homare pushed Rin up and lifted his face to look at him.

"**His losing consciousness.**" Homare reminded them to hurry up the injection.

But it was too late, Rin's half-lidded eyes had finally closed and his body welcomed the rest he desired.

* * *

Tora marched towards the library where he left Yukio when Homare took him. He gripped the nameplate Dragulesc gave to pass on to Yukio. His thoughts going back to the Tartarus Chamber.

_"Yusuke Tora." Dragulesc read the portfolio with 'KOMA-D-001' printed on the front, "I believe that the rumors of Satan's flame-wielding son had reached you. You must keep these experiments a secret. And behave yourself, your files say that you have lost your sister in the blue night. I don't want to hear a report of someone attacking an important subject."_

_"What about the other one?"_

_Dragulesc was slightly surprised, "You met the younger twin? He does not possess the flames, but he is still an important subject. Since you know him, give this to him." The doctor took the nameplate and held it out to Tora._

He reached the library and went to look for Yukio, he found him at the History lane, sitting on a table with a few books scattered and opened in front of him.

The man's footsteps gained Yukio's attention and the kid smiled at him, Tora held out his arm towards Yukio, not bothering to sit down, the nameplate facing up.

"SN-A-002" Tora read it. Yukio took it and inspected how the plate should be put on. "Satan: Class A: Subject number Zero Zero Two."

Yukio stopped fumbling the pin of the nameplate and he looked up at the towering man above him, Tora was… _scowling_ at him.

"You know?" Yukio whispered almost soundless.

The silence between them was deafening, the blue flames back at the chamber flashed in Tora's mind, the power that this kid's brother wield and how his familiar, whom he had spent time taming it, had burned cruelly. Imagining how her sister must've burned similarly to the demon did too as by what the Order told him years ago. His fists balled, the veins appearing from the skin as he held in the anger he wanted to lash out at.

He sees red. But it wasn't the color of his temper that he saw. He saw blood.

The blood dropped from the kid's pale fists which gripped the nameplate. Yukio was cowering below him, noticing how small the kid was compared to him and how he could easily crush him right now. But what good would it do? His familiar was now gone, the blue flames killed his sister, but that was not the child's doing. Tora sighed, his expression softened, what was he doing? The kid's terrified of him now.

"Sorry kid. I lost my temper." Tora apologized, "You can let go of the nameplate, you're bleeding."

Yukio flinched at the mention of blood, he didn't even notice that the pin of the nameplate in his hand had pierced him, he dropped the nameplate, it clattered on the table, avoiding the opened books so it won't get stained, "Oh." He let out a shaky breath, trying to calm down from Tora's intimidating actions.

"Anyway, yeah. I know. I saw your brother's flames-"

Yukio's fears were thrown aside and were replaced with worry, he shot up from his chair, the scrapes echoing inside the library. "Is he alright!? Did he have an attack!?" He shouted.

"Kid calm down. Let's talk outside." Tora grabbed Yukio's wrist, the grip was strong and Yukio had to wince at it, he took the nameplate which Yukio had now ignored, and pulled him out of the Library, leaving the unreturned books at the table.

Once outside the guards had started following them again, they reached the common room that Yukio passed by hours ago, this time only a few people were around and they took an empty table nearby.

Tora faced the guards and showed them Yukio's nameplate, "**You can leave us now, Dr. Dragulesc gave him a nameplate already.**"

The guards looked at each other and nodded, they left them and walked out of the room.

Tora didn't waste time and told him what happened to his brother but kept out how the harsh method they did to bring out his flames, he saw Yukio's worried and concerned expression for his brother, making him remember how his sister did that too about him.

"Don't worry, they hooked him up with some kind of machine right after."

Yukio sighed, bringing his arms up the table and combing his hair on his hands. Straightening his thoughts of the past week, he knew this would end badly, the trials, the experiments, and the truths. He's doing fine for now but his brother wasn't and if this is how the experiments always end up with, his brother would always be hanging on death's door. He groaned, how things could spiral down so fast within a week.

"Hey, kid. You need to breathe." Tora reminded him seeing as Yukio was holding his breath while deep in thought, "Honestly though, I heard the rumors but I didn't expect how _human_ you both are."

Yukio didn't know how to respond to that, and then he remembered that Tora was angry at him a while ago, "What did I-? Is it because of my uh- bloodline that got you angry? I'm sorry, I didn't tell you. It's just- I'm not comfortable with it."

"Kind of." Tora answered half-heartedly, "Those blue flames are _dangerous, _it killed my familiar with just a touch of it. Not to mention, the blue night…" He whispered the last one, but Yukio definitely heard of it.

"The Blue Night?" The kid repeated, Tora stared at him, wondering if the kid honestly had no idea what the blue night was.

Seeing as Yukio was actually serious, Tora's jaw dropped comically, eyes widening at the question, "What is with the lack of knowledge about this stuff? You're a Nephilim and you're a Page. You should know that since you're related to the demon itself who caused it."

Yukio felt a pang of hurt at what Tora let out. "Dad- I mean Father Fujimoto, the one who raised us kept our heritage a secret, until last week happened."

Tora's jaw dropped once more, "Just last week? Oh, kid. Sorry, I didn't know. How'd you even manage to keep up?"

"Still trying to figure it out, actually."

"Uhm…" Tora's lip thinned and he started to explain.

* * *

_Author's Notes: So… Yusuke Tora, uh he looks like a Japanese version of Osceola but with short hair. The next chapter will still be about KRC Laboratory. Chapter 10 will return back to school and all will be…not as tense as this chapter. And, Yey! this fic had reached eleven faves! Thanks so much!_

_Also, since I'm not a native English speaker, there may be errors with the grammar, verb usage and dialogues. Please correct me if you found any and can't bear to read the mistake so I can change it._

_Thanks for reading. See you next chapter!_


	9. Share your allowance with me!

**Chapter 9 : Share your allowance with me!**

_Chapter Warnings: Uh…uhm suicidal thoughts… coarse language..._

* * *

_"flashbacks"_

_'thoughts'_

"dialogue"

_emphasis_

**_"flashbacks in other languages"_**

_***sound effects XD***_

* * *

"It's been three days already Dad. He might wake up soon."

"How about you? They're not doing anything bad?"

"No. Just blood tests and physical check-ups."

"How about his flames? I saw the report sent to the Grigori, it must have taken a toll on him, I'm really worried here you know. If they do something bad, tell me. I'll _burn_ that whole facility down on my own."

"…That's treason, Fujimoto!"

"…Eavesdropping at my calls, Arthur!? How _low_ can you get!?"

"…We're in the middle of a fight, Fujimoto! Put the phone down! **_*crash*_** Angel Slash!"

"…You said you can handle the Krakens by yourself!"

"…Drop the phone or I'll cut you down along with it!"

"…How could you deprive a father from talking to his own children! **_*crash*_** "

Yukio stared at the phone on the table which was on speaker, listening to the events transpiring on the other side of the call.

"Uh Dad, I think we should talk later. You seemed kinda busy."

"Nonsense. Arthur can handle it all."

Then a manly scream howled from the phone.

"Or maybe not. Alright, but once your brother wakes up, call me immediately Yukio."

"I will, Dad. Bye. And be careful."

"You should tell that to the Krakens."

And the call dropped.

Their assigned room returned to its quiet state, only the light snores from his twin on the other side of the room can be heard.

Dragulesc had ended the experiment when Rin collapsed from the attack after he summoned his flames. The Doctor left to report to the Vatican, Yukio had asked how the experiment went, he expected them to be secretive about it, but as soon as Dragulesc told him everything, he regretted even asking.

They did _that_ to his brother, and he phoned Shiro right after, he didn't tell him anything, just checked on him if he'll answer immediately, so once Rin wakes up he won't panic knowing that he _killed_ a fake Shiro.

_"There were no casualties, but Yusuke Tora did lose a familiar. Your brother's flames did that, at least we know it is effective against demons."_ Dragulesc told him after they moved Rin to the room they share.

When Yukio entered the room that day, it was stuffed with large machines. There was one horrifying apparatus he saw, it had large cylinders hooked on to his brother's arms, attached to his skin using a band. The researchers explained to him that they were DCR solutions.

Just this morning they took the machines away and replaced it through intravenous administration, they hooked his brother on three bags, one was nutrients, one was the DCR IV solution, but the other one was new. He asked, and they told him, it was a _stabilizing_ elixir.

Yukio was aware that these experiments were kept to only a few numbers, and for them to tell him, it was unnerving. Was his involvement in knowing these methods simply because he was Rin's family or do they have something else planned for him?

He was getting paranoid.

The good news to the researchers was that Rin's flame experiments were compatible with the elixir which allows him to prolong his use of his flames under a time limit, which also means that Rin can indeed be used as a weapon.

Actually, that was bad news to him.

Another bad news was the Doctor wants Yukio to be injected with the stabilizing elixir too. Said stabilizing elixir was the same stuff they use for Tora and the other Nephilims who wanted to enhance their abilities.

He couldn't reject, they wouldn't let him. They were occasionally reminding, no –they were _threatening_ him that their lives are on the Order's hands. So Dragulesc injected him a small amount. Ordered him to tell of changes if there occurred any since his blood tests were all normal, meaning there were no traces of demon blood, but the Doctor seems to want the opposite of it.

Yukio's feet took him to the room's bathroom, it had a shower, a toilet and a large mirror. He leaned over the mirror, looking at his reflection. Noting the subtle change of color in his left eye. He lifted a hand, touching the skin around his eye.

He had teal green-ish eyes, when looked at an angle, it'll turn slightly blue, if there were changes in the brightness of the surroundings, it'll turn grey-ish.

Right now, his left eye had more blue than normal, it was only a little, like a drop of blue liquid into green, mixed almost invisible, starting from around the pupil. But to him, or Rin or even Shiro, they'll notice it immediately.

He wants to tell his Father about this, but all this would just pile up into the other problems his Dad was currently facing, like his position of being Paladin, and the mistrust of his fellow exorcists because of the rumors going around.

Speaking of rumors, spending three days in the facility, he heard of them, some were obviously lies used to waver the trust for the Paladin and some were just horrifying to listen to. Yukio only understood the rumors that were in English and in his own language.

**_"I heard that the Paladin raised the spawn of Satan, he must be plotting with the demon!"_** Yukio restrained himself not to get angry at them for thinking that way about his Father.

**_"Some say there's actually two demon spawns, what was the Order thinking!? It's dangerous to keep them in Assiah." _**_No! We're not…dangerous. _Yukio's thoughts trailed off.

**_"New Demon Kings? –No, they use flames! The blue flames!" _**That one was true, though only his brother wielded it.

**_"Are they our allies? Or enemies?"_ **_Allies_! Yukio repeated in his mind.

**_"Are the Higher-ups out of their mind!? First was trusting the King of Time, now they're keeping the Satan's spawns alive!?"_ **That hurt, they want them dead.

**_"If I meet them, I'll definitely kill those f**kers, I lost my family in the Blue Night!"_ **At that point, Yukio couldn't bear listening to them anymore.

He heard from Tora, of what the Blue Night was, of how Satan had attacked Assiah, and how many exorcists lost their lives, and most-likely the families of those who had losses were out to get them for revenge. His stomach churned just thinking of being related to such demon capable of such massacre. Yukio bent down, catching his balance on the sink.

"Yuki..o?"

Yukio's head snapped to the bathroom's door, there stood Rin in his crumpled uniform and messy bed-hair, the IV stand wheeled behind him.

"Rin! You're awake!" Yukio was glad, but the smile on his face died down as Rin looked pained. His eyes collected tears, welling up refusing to fall.

"Dad's alright! Nii-san, it's okay, you didn't hurt Dad, he's in the Pacific on a mission, I called him minutes ago, we can call again- "

"I know…" Rin cut him off, voice deprived of emotions. "I figured it out. Can I use the bathroom? I'm pretty sure I've been on bed for days."

Yukio gave a meek nod and left Rin in the bathroom, occasionally, he'll knock on the door and ask if he needed anything or any help, Rin just shouted at him for being annoying.

Well, seems like Rin was alright.

He waited. Rin was taking a lot longer in the bathroom, Yukio glanced at the blinds that hid the room from the glass window, giving them privacy. Putting his attention at the silhouettes of people on the outside, listening to the hum of the AC unit, staring at the phone on the table that the Laboratory gave them.

Then a slap took his attention back to the bathroom, what was his brother doing!? Did he hurt himself? It didn't sound like the steel rod of an IV stand falling over.

Yukio couldn't take it anymore, he paced towards the door and knocked repeatedly on it. "Nii-san, what happened!?"

The door abruptly opened with an irritated Rin standing in front of him, his face was damp and his bangs still had droplets of water, but the unnatural reddening of his cheeks stood out.

"Yukio! What the hell!? Everything's fine!" Rin yelled obviously annoyed.

"Did you _slap_ yourself?" Yukio asked.

"I was trying to …uh sort my mind on something." He grumbled, then rubbed his cheeks, obviously regretting doing it.

"Was it about the experiment?"

"Not exactly." Rin stepped out of the door, Yukio gave him space for the IV stand to pass through.

"Uh. Can you tell me about it?"

Rin walked around the room, IV stand wheeling in tow as he pulls it, looking for something, as he did, his thoughts went back to the damage he did on the demon, the terrified expressions from the researchers and Tora.

"Then can you at least tell me _how_ you figured that Dad's alright?" Yukio's eyes following his brother around the room. "What are you even looking for?"

"Some clothes? I need a bath." Rin's face crumpled in disgust, he was sweaty and bloody last he remembered, there were definitely extra clothes lying around if the clothes he was wearing now was clean.

"I know where they are. But tell me first."

Rin paused. "Really Yukio? Clothes in exchange for answers?"

"I'm just worried, Nii-san. And Dad too!"

"Alright." Rin gave in, he walked back to his bed and sat facing Yukio, arms crossed lazily. "How about instead of clothes, you give me answers too."

"Uh. Answers to what?" It was a passing thought but Yukio hoped it wasn't about the blue night.

"What happened to your eye?" Rin squinted at him.

Yukio gave him a silent Oh. As he expected, Rin would notice it immediately. "You first." His voice was now stern.

Rin rolled his eyes at the tone, his brother does that too often when their roles had switched, Yukio acting like the older and him the younger, it only happens when he had gotten himself stuck to the bed thanks to his illness.

"I figured it out after… I reached out to _him, _then turns out it was a demon, and it burned just by the touch of my flames. " Rin stopped there, thinking back to the demon begging to spare his life.

"There's more to it..."

"That's not fair, Yukio. Your turn!"

Yukio adjusted his glasses, his eyes itching to twitch at their childish exchange. "Dr. Dragulesc injected me with a stabilizing elixir. Now continue, Nii-san."

"He did what!? And you let him!? Is that the result with your eyes!? Are they gonna experiment you too!?"

"…"

"Hey, why aren't you talking?"

"You haven't continue telling me your side of the story."

Rin groaned, "Alright! I released the demon from my grip, and it still continued to burn. I heard it, I clearly heard it beg for its life. And then the researchers and that Tora guy all looked so terrified." He then bit his lip to stop it from quivering.

"Hold on, you heard the demon? Since when can you hear demons?"

"I noticed it last week at the cram school, with Akari-sensei's temptaint ritual. But it was just bits and pieces along with an annoying headache, but that time though, I could hear it fully."

"Does the researchers know?"

"No. I haven't told them. Hold up! You haven't answered my question yet! Why did you let them inject you with something!?"

"Well, I didn't have a choice, Nii-san. We'll be killed if I didn't agree!"

"Do they know? The change in your eye?"

"Not yet, I only noticed it change this morning, I don't think it's noticeable to strangers. I don't really feel any different."

"Don't tell them."

"I'm not planning to, and don't tell them about you speaking to demons too, who knows what they'll do to you after that stunt they pulled just to bring your flames out!"

"Alright, deal."

"Deal."

"Now the clothes, Yukio." Rin raised the palm of his right arm up to Yukio, waiting for the clothes.

Yukio sighed, he then went to a hidden cabinet under his bed and opened it, inside were spares of their white uniform, their freshly washed True Cross Academy uniforms and the sling bag Rin carried three days ago.

Yukio took their school uniforms and sling bag out, he handed Rin's.

"Uh, are there other clothes there?"

"No, Rin. There aren't. Anyway if we hurry, we can still catch up with school!"

Rin gave Yukio a disappointed look, even if they're miles away from home and got injected by heavens know what those were, he still worries about school. "We're in another country Yukio! And you're still thinking of school!"

"Well, unlike you who got special permission from Sir Pheles, I'm a scholar and me skipping school is bad!"

"It's just one day."

"My monthly allowance is on the line here."

"Monthly!? How much do you get?"

"That doesn't matter."

"It does! Mephisto's such a cheapskate, I don't think I can survive his weekly allowances. Maybe I could ask the Old man-"

"Rin! Don't trouble Dad with those kinds of problems!"

"Hey, he's the Paladin, maybe he's got some hidden cash somewhere-"

"Rin!"

"Woah! I was just joking, Yukio… hey, how about I agree with us going to school as long as you share with me your monthly allowance, it's probably loaded since you're a scholar and all."

Yukio went quiet, "I'm gonna go to school." He grumbled. And with that he marched towards the door and opened it only for Rin to grab his sling bag which Yukio carried, stopping him at the door frame.

"Wait. Wait wait! Alright, I'll go to school _and_ share your allowance with me."

"Just how much does Sir Pheles give you to make you this desperate?"

Rin let go of the sling bag and counted his fingers, the IV lines swaying from his actions, he raised his fingers only for Yukio to pity him.

"_That_ only for a week?" Yukio asked.

Rin nodded sadly.

"That's… maybe you can have a part-time job?"

"And how can I get a job when we have cram classes in the afternoon!?"

"I think the school cafeteria may be in need of a cook?"

"Selfish bastard, do you really hate spending your allowance with me!?"

"You're the selfish bastard here, Rin! My monthly allowance is enough for one person for a _month _and, mind you, I'm in the advanced class, I have projects that cost _a lot_!"

A loud cough took their attention, only noticing now that the door to their room was wide open and that they had a crowd listening to their argument about allowances. Most of them were foreigners so they were probably just watching without understanding anything while some were definitely Asian, one being a Japanese man whom Yukio was acquainted with.

Tora was fully dressed in an Exorcist uniform, it had red outlines that contrast to that of the Japanese Exorcist uniform which was all black. The red matched his irises making him more frightening.

Both twins flushed at the crowd that witnessed their little squabble. The crowd had then dispersed when they noticed how embarrassed the two were because of them.

"Fighting over allowances?" Tora asked as he approached their door. "Really?"

"Sorry about that Tora-san. Uh, we weren't too loud, were we?" Yukio glanced at the remaining people walking around.

"Well, you two did took their attention, albeit none of them understood Japanese." Tora chuckled at the confused expressions of the crowd when they were still fighting.

Tora leaned sideways to look at Rin behind Yukio. The kid looked messy, he assumed he just woke up, the IV stand with three bags still hooked on his arm. But he was fine compared to the last time he saw him. "You okay kid?" He asked, directed to Rin.

Rin recognized the red-eyed man, "Hey, you were there-"

"Let's talk inside." Tora grabbed Yukio's shoulder and lightly pushed him back inside the room and he closed the door behind him. He then eyed the room.

"Clear?"

Yukio nodded. "I checked, the room's not wired."

"Uh. What are you talking about?" Rin asked, clueless at the conversation between the two.

"We're talking about the possibility of someone spying on us, Nii-san." Yukio sighed, "We should be careful about what we let out in public."

"Oh." Rin looked back at Tora, "Why were you there at the Tartarus Chamber?"

Tora glared at Rin for a second and he regretted asking, "I was told to summon _my_ familiar and let him transform into the Paladin."

_'His familiar? Like the one with the safari-hat man?'_ Rin finally realizes his fault, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to- I didn't know it'll happen- no. What I mean is that. It was my fault, I'm sorry. "

"So you understand." Tora paused as he glazed over Rin who couldn't look him straight in the eyes, "You understand how dangerous you are?"

"Tora-san!" Yukio shouted, Tora glared at him making him freeze in his spot.

Rin nodded slowly.

"And how easily you are manipulated?"

"Tora-san! He can't do anything about that. The Order had given us a condition to obey them so they can't execute _us_-"

"Exactly what you said, Kid." Tora's expression morphed into pity as he looked at Yukio. This time, Rin looked up and watched as the scary bulky man in the Exorcist robe gives them pitiful looks.

The expression irked both Rin and Yukio but they didn't show it.

"What do you mean, Tora-san?"

"You're dangerous, unsafe to be around people. " Tora spoke.

Yukio moved towards Rin in an attempt to, somehow, protect him from Tora with whatever the man was planning to do, the eyes of the man followed the kid's movement.

"You should _die_." He directed the words to the both of them.

Both twins couldn't help but feel hurt at the words thrown at them.

Tora continued to stare at them, and he sighed, slowly slipping away from the serious facade he displayed. "By now, word of Satan's spawns must've reached the whole Order. Those words I said, will always follow you, and that includes you Yukio, no matter how human you both look. Your relation to Satan wouldn't keep you safe. There are countless people who will go after you, manipulate you, _use_ you. Like how Dragulesc is able to perform experiments. I don't know the details of the charges put upon you but what I want to say is that you need to _only_ let them know what they _see_, and keep what they _can't_."

The two thought back to the secrets they intended to keep from the researchers, Rin communicating with demons. Yukio's eye.

"With how I see it, you both do not hold any leverage on the Order. The Paladin may be there, but what can one man do against a whole organization? So, you both need to be aware of everything, of everyone. And toughen up your resolves." Tora placed a comforting hand on each of the twins' shoulders and smiled, a genuine smile, at them.

"Yeah. Well, we've already thought about that. " Rin started, "Hah! Once we become official Exorcists, we'll be the greatest exorcist the Order can get, there's your leverage!"

Tora chuckled at the optimism Rin displayed. "I see. Anyway, that's all that I wanted to tell you. I'm going on a month-long mission in the Pacific so you won't be seeing me here for the next few weeks." He turned around and opened the door, "I'm off then. Bye, kids."

The door closed shut, leaving the two inside again.

"I don't like him, he's creepy-scary. Why are you friends with him?"

"He's more of an acquaintance, Nii-san."

* * *

Todo-sensei was…

"Late. Why is he late!?" Yukio grumbled, combing his hair back in frustration. He glared at the door to their room, the regular class had already ended, marking him absent, and now cram classes are gonna end anytime soon too.

Rin sighed, watching Yukio pace back and forth in the room was making him tired, he lied back down on his bed, now in his school uniform and free from all the tubes he was hooked up in hours ago.

Homare visited them during lunch, she explained about what the next experiment was about and that it'll focus more on Rin's flames again, but this time they'll test with the stabilizing elixir instead of the DCR solutions.

The lady had explained it in simpler terms for Rin to understand, to utilize his demonic power, the DCR solution and elixir acts as an Off and On switch, with the risk of triggering his attacks. Homare assured they won't trigger one since an unconscious patient wouldn't be helpful in their experiments.

The door creaked open and Rin sat up again, there stood their history teacher, swiping off his sweat with a tissue. "Sorry, I'm late. I can only leave my post in the Deep Keep after regular class hours."

"Well then. Let's go." Yukio told them.

Todo closed the door again, this time he was inside the room with the twins and he pulled out the key to the True Cross Academy. Yukio had to slap his forehead for forgetting that he and Rin had a key to the Cram School, they could've just went back by their selves, but then again they were told to wait for the teacher.

* * *

The twins retreated back to their dorm, there was no point in joining the cram classes now with only a few minutes left till it ends. Yukio walked towards his desk on his side of the room and was in deep thought, thinking about how his absence would affect his monthly allowance and to think of an excuse that the teachers can accept to why he was absent.

Meanwhile, Rin went to his closet and picked up a new set of clothes since he was still wearing his school uniform. He chose a simple T-shirt and shorts. He took off his uniform's coat and saw the injection and tube marks around his arms, he removed his inner shirt, revealing the ugly wound on the sides of his arms that the cylinder tubes left when they were ripped off from his skin, red and numb. Touching it out of curiosity, he winced at the burning pain as it came in contact with his fingers. Sighing, he returned his T-shirt in the closet and chose a long-sleeved one to hide the marks.

"Hey, Yukio. You're not gonna change yet?" Rin asked since Yukio seemed to blank out on his desk. "Uhh, hey?"

Rin walked towards him, standing on his left side. "Yo, Earth to Yukio-" He grabbed his brother's wrist only for Yukio to wince in pain, Rin withdraw his hand in surprise. "What the-"

"Ow." Yukio let out while he rubbed his left wrist.

"What was that? Is that where they injected you with the stabilizing stuff?!"

"Yeah, it's only been a day since I got injected, it'll heal soon. Though it is odd that it doesn't heal like any other injection. Vaccines alike hurt at first, the lingering effects too but this one takes too long to disappear."

"Can you show it to me?"

Yukio removed his uniform's coat and it revealed the skin on his left wrist had the same ugly mark that was similar to Rin's arms. The surrounding skin was also red and numb. Yukio grimaced at the sight.

"Hey, it'll heal Yukio. No need to act like a girl with a zit." Rin walked to his bed, picking up his uniform which was where he threw it.

"I'm not acting like it. It's just, it reminds me that I'm not… normal anymore."

"Uhh, since when were you normal?" Rin joked but regretted it when it meant differently to Yukio who glared at him. "I mean you knew you were a half-demon since we were little kids, Yukio."

"Yeah, I know. But half-demons don't go through _this_, especially half-demons who supposedly _not_ possess any demonic traits." Yukio explained and Rin gripped his uniform for reminding him that he was the one who had those traits. "School's one of the things that makes me feel normal… what about you?"

Rin decided to sit on the bed since this was probably gonna be a long conversation, "Well, being diagnosed with an Immune System Disorder, having signs of autoimmune diseases, I wake up being drugged and injected by nurses and Doctors hovering around your field of vision. It doesn't really differ from Dragulesc's experiments, the only change was the demon abilities I'm supposed to show them. So, to me, it feels normal... well except for the flames and demons...and knowing you're actually related to the literal devil!"

"Good point…I'm sorry, Nii-san."

"Nah. I'm more worried about your situation though, are they gonna inject you weekly too?"

"No. Only if there are changes to me, but the only change right now is my left eye-"

"Are you scared if there are more changes?"

"I really hope not. I'd be really bad if there are."

"Tell me if there are, so we can cover it up. I don't want them to experiment on you too, Yuki. It's okay if it's me, I'm _used_ to it, but you're not, and you have a great future here in school-"

"Don't talk like you don't have a future, Nii-san."

"Well, its true, isn't it? My life has already been on a tight leash since I was younger. " Rin spoke, his heart twisted at the words his spouting out but he couldn't help but say it right now.

The words that Tora-san threw at them, how they are targeted, how he's dangerous, how they should just _die_.

Rin shook his head, if anyone's gonna die, it should be _him_. Not his brother, just him, he had already joked about how his years were numbered.

He gasped, why was he thinking like this? He already shut these thoughts out this morning, _slapping_ it back in his mind. Was he not satisfied with the thoughts being kept in the darkest pits of his mind? No one should know he was already thinking like this, it'll hurt his brother. It'll hurt his Dad more too with all the problems he had to deal just to keep _both_ of them alive. His lips curved up, he should stop talking before he could let the negative thoughts consume him.

"But that doesn't mean you don't have a future. Look! You're here right now, you're in school, you're studying." Yukio reasoned out from his seat. "You can do stuff you can't before, the Order may be using us but look at the bright side, they gave you a chance, they gave you your medicines, we can be an asset to them. You have _friends _now too, Nii-san. You're making progress!"

Rin's eyes widened at the words he heard. "Yeah. You're right, Yukio!" He gave his twin a warm smile, the worry fading from the other's expression. "I'm making progress."

Rin was making progress indeed… by convincing his self that _he was doing well_.

"So about those monthly allowances you get…" Rin started.

Yukio sighed in defeat, he had some recalculating to do with their money.

* * *

"How is _he_, Homare?" Dragulesc's voice was quiet, almost a whisper as he skimmed through the records of his report he handed to the Grigori.

"With the testing transferred to Okumura Rin, _he_ is doing great with reaping the results of the experiment, the elixir had shown longer effects without _him_ suffering." Homare stood, hands clasped behind her. "Though, the head of the Inari branch is angry at the advantages of having Satan's spawn in your research. He said you were _cheating_."

Dragulesc chuckled. "He should have accepted my proposal instead of competing with me."

* * *

_Review responses: _

_Arisa risarisarisa__: the machine I mentioned is similar to the machine Lucifer uses to transfer the Immortality elixir into his body, __the one Gedouin was researching in Inari __(I don't know the name of the machine, maybe it might be similar to a blood transfusion machine, I forgot what it looked like actually, just remembered that there were tubes, I'm a bad author for not doing research XD)__, but Lucy's had like three tubes inserted on both of his shoulders –and It looked like it was taped on by bandages, on Rin it was just one, but on each of his arms (because if it was on the shoulders then how can he sleep with it stuck to his body?), both on each sides and it was placed using a band, its some sort of cast so it won't come off easily, so when he went to rescue the fake Shiro, the tubes ripping off from his skin would hurt very much._

_IruMinO: Okay, I may have exaggerated the size of the people surrounding the twins, oops, but hey it's cute, I actually had to edit it though, I just removed the foot-tall part. haha. also, you reminded me that Todo was the one who triggered Yukio to descend into madness, now I'm hating him again. both him and Lulubelle D: I had to go read volumes 1 to three for chapter 10 and watching the twins interacting with each other was only making me sad, next chapter will have some friendly sibling fluff in it! and maybe a pinch of angst...__  
_

_Aaelyn: Dragulesc doesn't have a lot of appearance in the manga, but I swear he's crazy-obsessed with his experiments and research, I mean look at chapter 115, Satan had started to burn people and Dragulesc only cared about his research data._

_Miyaraa: Shiro is still around, but he can't freely visit his sons right now. But he gets to torture Arthur, that's something._

* * *

_Author's Notes:_

_Rin might be a little annoying with the allowance thing but its the only topic I could come up with naturally, plus you may think Yukio is selfish but he is just a student and not an exorcist, so his money only comes from those allowances the school gives for scholarship students._

_So I'm gonna reveal here something, the head of the Inari branch isssss, you probably have already guessed it, Michael Gedouin! And now Dragulesc and Gedouin are __having a competition on who gets to perfect their elixirs. Also, I'll be following the manga for their experiments, Dragulesc is doing the Regenerative(?) elixir – this is the same as the stabilizing (lol I couldn't think of a better name, the one where they use demon regenerative cells etc.) elixir used for Rin. While Gedouin would do the Immortality elixir._

_Also, I've put in Yukio's eye already, but don't worry, it won't do anything...yet. It's just the effect of him of having injected by the elixir. It'll be fun to hide it though..._


	10. Haters, Fools and Idiots

**Chapter 10: Haters, Fools, and Idiots**

"Hey! You're back!" Shima greeted as he walked into their floor's shared bathroom.

Rin just got out from his shower and was drying his self with a towel, but he was still half-naked, only wearing pants so his arms are shown openly. As soon as he noticed Shima, he immediately pulled the towel up to his upper torso, only his head was out to peek at his visitor.

Shima couldn't help but look behind Rin, which was a large mirror, reflecting the multiple injection marks that spotted over his arms and wrists. "Oh. Don't worry, we know about your weekly treatments."

"Weekly treatments?" Rin's shoulders drooped.

"Uh. Yeah, the Headmaster told us when we asked where you and your brother were last Saturday." Shima took to the nearest sink and started to gargle. "Anyway, we need to hurry. Classes are gonna start soon, I can't believe Bon didn't wake me up _again_!" The pink-haired classmate cried.

"Then hurry, I just need to wear my uniform and I'm ready to go! " Rin yelled when he walked out of the bathroom and into his dorm room.

"Yeah yeah, I know! Don't leave me!" Shima's words muffled as he brushed his teeth wildly.

Rin waited for his classmate, and both of them went down to the dorm's cafeteria.

"We have a cafeteria?" Rin asked, looking around the room, there were a few students left loitering around and are still eating breakfast.

"Dude, it's already been a week and you don't know we have a cafeteria, where do you even eat breakfast?"

The two walked towards the array of food on the counter, each costs money that Rin's eyes couldn't take to look at thinking about how much would be left from his allowance if he spent it here.

"I'll just do the usual routine, I'm on a tight budget right now." Rin answered him with a ghostly gesture towards the exit. Shima grabbed his wrist to stop him from leaving, forgetting about the stinging injection marks on the dark-haired student.

Rin winced at the grip and Shima retracted his hand back, "Sorry man, do the injections still hurt?"

"Don't worry, it'll fade soon. Anyway, I'll just buy a snack from the food stalls in the school grounds. It'll cost less." Rin explained.

"A snack!?"

Both Rin and Shima snapped towards the voice, standing over the other side of the counter is the dorm's student prefect, clad in an apron, a hairnet, and a ladle on one hand. "You eat snacks for breakfast!? Aren't you the _younger_ twin of Okumura Yukio? The sickly of the two? And you skip breakfast for a snack? Do you not care about your health!?" The prefect was now shouting.

Shima tried to calm him down because all the students were now paying their attention to the prefect. "Uh, Prefect-senpai, we can talk without shouting." _(AN: yeah, let's just call him Prefect-senpai XD)_

"I'm just worried about his health, Renzo-san."

"Hey! Just so you know, I'm the older twin!"

Both the prefect and Shima had surprised looks. "You're the older one?" They chorused together.

"Yes!"

Shima switched back to the Prefect, ignoring Rin, "Wait. You know who I am?"

The Prefect nodded, "Uh-huh, your one of Suguro Ryuji's _lackeys_. I keep tabs on the top students so I know who they're spending time with. Easier to monitor too."

Rin sniggered, "He just called you Suguro's lackey."

Shima laughed. "Well we do look like it, I mean we follow him around everywhere."

The Prefect looked at the wall clock hanging on the cafeteria's entrance, "You two better eat breakfast now, the bell's going to ring soon. Come let's eat together, I have classes to attend too."

"Well, I'll leave you two then. I'll just eat something on the way to the classroom." Rin walked off, waving a hand at them.

The Prefect ran around the counter to reach Rin and grabbed his uniform, dragging him back in with a whine. "Why aren't you eating breakfast anyway? It's not healthy."

"Well, you see the prices aren't really affordable…to me."

Prefect-senpai mouthed an Ah, and an idea struck him, "If that's the case then, why don't you work here in the cafeteria, you can eat for free and they'll pay you too. I'm already working here part-time, you see." He pointed at his apron.

"Wait, really!? I can help with cooking, I'm a good cook, you know." Rin thumbed at his person, smiling proudly.

"Oh, even better. Let's go tell the head cook then."

Shima watched the two enter the kitchen, it took them minutes and Rin was happily skidding back to him, the Prefect tagging along behind, without the apron and hair net but a tray full of food fit for the three of them.

"The head cook accepted him, he'll only be assisting with cooking because of his medical complications. As a celebration, he gave us a free meal." Prefect-senpai explained.

"Yey, free food!" Shima and Rin cheered.

"Shima?" Konekomaru stood at the entrance, eyes at the only students left in the cafeteria since everyone else already left moments ago. "Oh, Prefect-senpai and Rin-kun? You're still here? Classes already started."

"Ah, it's the other lackey." The prefect recognized.

"Lackey?" The smaller student asked what he meant by that.

* * *

Yukio massaged his forehead, he seemed to have forgotten something and trying to remember it was giving him a headache. After leaving the dorm very early, he went to the teacher's lounge to explain his absence, but before he could tell the perfect story he made up last night, the Headmaster already did it for him. Sir Pheles had told the teachers that Yukio went with his brother to his weekly treatments since their guardians aren't _available_.

Thinking of Rin, Yukio now remembered why his head was aching, he forgot to tell Rin that he left some change in his drawer for his allowance. He needed to text him later, not now since classes are still ongoing.

"Okumura-san. Do you know what page the answer is in for this section here?" A female classmate asked as she pointed at the printed question, they were currently doing group work, Suguro was also in his group which are his only members.

The group work is just a list of questions they needed to answer, Yukio recognized the question, he flipped the pages from their book and pointed at the topic, the female classmate thanked him and scribbled down the answer.

"You already studied that part?" Suguro asked behind the two from his chair.

"Not really study, I skimmed through the whole book when they issued it on the first day of class and I remembered there was a similar topic from the question."

"That's awesome, Okumura-san." Their female member praised him with a smile. "You're really smart."

"Uh, thanks."

"I bet you could've perfected the quiz yesterday, Suguro-san here could've done it if he didn't misspell a character. Haha." The girl laughed while Suguro frowned in embarrassment.

Suguro scoffed. "It was only one point. Unlike you, who got like six marks wrong."

"Hey! It's five, and it's not a big deal to me, unlike you guys who have to maintain a high grade, being a scholar and stuff." She grouched at Suguro then turned back to Yukio. "Anyway, why were you absent yesterday, Okumura-san? Don't tell me your brother's bad habits are rubbing off on you."

"Bad habits?" Asked Suguro while half of his mind was focused on their group work.

"Yeah. The infamous demon Okumura~" The student sang and motioned her hands up into claws as her attempt to imitate a demon, " Luckily this guy here is the total opposite of his twin."

Suguro left his work to put all his attention to their female member and then to Yukio who looked angry yet at the same time ashamed at the description of his brother, "Are you two former classmates?"

"Nope. " She puckered her lips as she said that, "We've heard of the Okumura twins in our school, from different sources of course. This one here was famous for his academic achievements, like winning the Quiz bowls and Award-winning research papers. While the other one was a troublemaker, skips classes, getting called in for detention, gets into fights even with students from our school, they said it was a blood bath."

"Blood bath?" Suguro then looked at Yukio for an explanation of what she said was true since the Rin he met was sick even if he looked like a troublemaker with the crumpled uniform and messy hair get-up.

"Those rumors are wrong, Rin only skips classes when he's sick, he does wind up in detention but not often, and he does get into fights sometimes but the _blood bath_ as you call it must be his flare-ups." Yukio explained as he remembered the only time when Rin got into a fight and went home all bloody was because he showed a new yet much worse symptom and that was when he first cough blood up, "I don't recall someone getting beaten up all bloody. Now can we get back to our work?"

"Uh, flare-up? Like what those _Psoriatic_ patients get?" The girl asked, her eyes widened at the information.

"See. You didn't even know that my brother is sick." Yukio turned to Suguro and took the unfinished work, only three questions left. He read the questions and then flipped through the pages of the book to look for the answers. "Don't believe every rumor you hear. They're all just a combination of lies from the truth."

All the questions were now answered and Yukio asked their female member to submit it to the teacher, she stood from her seat and went away with the material.

"If you don't mind me asking, what's a flare-up, Okumura-kun?" Asked Suguro as soon as the female student left.

"It's the term used for my brother's symptoms when it worsens, it was around our second years in Middle School when he's illness flared-up and showed signs of coughing blood and fainting."

"He what!?" Suguro slightly shouted which earned the two a few stares from their classmates. He looked back at them and his classmates all ducked their head pretending to do something else other than keeping their attention at the two top student's conversation. Suguro returned to look at Yukio who felt a little uncomfortable at the gazes of his classmates. "Sorry about that, you mean there's worse than what happened to him back at the Supply shop? Just what kind of illness does he have?"

Yukio nodded hesitantly, wondering if it's alright to tell his classmate about his brother's illness, Suguro already did witness it so it should be fine to let him know more, it would be easier for Rin too, "It's an Immune System Disorder, he shows various symptoms from different categories so the Doctor never gave him a specific diagnosis. He has symptoms from autoimmune diseases, like the headaches, nose bleeding, there are times where he experiences muscle fatigue and coughing blood. Then from allergies, though it rarely shows up, like rashes and sneezing. His collapse is caused by a chain reaction of the symptoms where his body would shut down to recuperate. It usually takes three days for his cells to return to normal unless he gets injected by a DC-" Yukio had to clamp his mouth shut since he nearly told about the DCR solution which Todo-sensei had said to keep it a secret. "by a – prednisone, a steroid to slow down the cells that attack his lungs which is the cause for him to cough blood up, it is the worse of his attacks because if the blood gets stuck in his lung, he won't be able to breathe." He ended, Yukio thanked Dr. Akari in his mind for explaining his diagnosis and the medicine Rin should take before the Order got them.

Suguro was left speechless, his eyes widened and his brows stayed up, the information he got about Rin's problem was shocking, there was actually much worse than what he saw back at the garden. He knows a bit of what autoimmune diseases are, they are the types of diseases with no known causes, and this could mean that at any moment Rin could have an episode. "Autoimmune diseases don't have any causes right?"

His classmate nodded, though Yukio already knew that Rin's disease is caused by his demon cells acting up whenever he exerts strength. This is the only thing that differs from a normal autoimmune disease, and with this information thanks to the Order, Rin could do a lot of things instead of being afraid to do anything at all by being too cautious.

Suguro thought deeply about how this could affect Rin's performance on exorcism. To him, Rin looked healthy and presumed that the illness he heard was just something mild, he even thought that Rin would be best suited for a Doctor or an Aria meister because of it, but knowing what kind of illness it was and if his symptoms would just show up in the middle of a battle, then he'd be killed in a mission. Suguro had only one question left in his mind, but he couldn't ask Yukio this because it would sound rude._ 'Why was Rin even taking up Exorcism if he's not even suitable for battle? Was it just for fun? Was it just for the heck of it? Wouldn't he be in the way if there's fighting involved?'_

"That sucks," Their female classmate returned and sat next to her seat beside Yukio, "I don't have any siblings, but thinking about it, he's pretty handful to take care of, is it even okay for him to attend school? I mean, if his Immune system is all flunky, then he'd be exposed to other sicknesses like fever and colds."

"Like if someone sneezes?" Asked Suguro.

By this time, both Suguro and their female classmate were engrossed on the other risks of having such a disease, Yukio just left them to talk about it as long as they don't bad-mouth his brother.

* * *

The PhysEd class was learning the basics of playing basketball, they've already discussed the rules yesterday and now they had to perform it. This time the class wasn't a joint lesson so it was only Rin's class that had the activity. The teacher asked him if can do the simple exercise which is mostly dribbling and throwing the ball.

Rin got called first, he performed the exercises without any complications with a few coaching from the teacher since he was absent yesterday. After his turn, the teacher raised the level of the exercises which earned him a few glares from his classmates for the special treatment. Shima patted him on the shoulder telling him to not mind them since they don't know how serious his illness was.

Rin thanked him and proceeded to sit on the benches of the gym. He watched as the exercises were performed individually, the girls were the first to do it, after their turn, they too sat on the benches. The girls seem to be wary of him, giving him side glances as they chose the other benches to sit on next to his.

There was one girl who surprised him, she sat next to him, eyeing him with black sardonic eyes. Rin raised a brow at her, giving her an equal glare, challenging her attitude.

The girl grinned mischievously, "And here I thought you're a fragile little boy." She teased. "You're not really convincing anyone with your so-called illness, Okumura. You don't even look the part. You must've bribed a doctor or something so the teachers could give you special treatments and adjusted lessons."

"No, I didn't. What's your problem anyway, cat-eyes?" Rin asked her, as he looked at her sharp shaped eyes.

"Ca-cat-eyes!?" She shrieked, "Just so you know, I'm aware of your reputation back at Middle school, demon Okumura, I bet this is just some little ruse you're putting on so you can skip classes and do things delinquents do."

Rin flinched at the nickname he was branded with, right now if Rin didn't know, he would lash out to defend himself but he needed to control it. Him lashing out was his old self, right now he's a new person. So he'll let all the accusing words this cat-like girl was spitting on him. Until-

"So how much have you stolen from the student's pocket money? No, how many students have you beaten up lately? You were absent yesterday, bet you mugged someone." The girl snickered.

"No! I've never mugged anyone!" Rin stood up, his face reddening as his anger broke out.

"See, you're showing your true colors, be careful, one mistake and you'll get suspended in this school."

"Shut up! You don't know anything, you cat-eyed giant!" He countered, now noticing that this girl was taller than him, not to mention slightly buff, must be a member of some sports club. _(AN: I was thinking of Maki from Fire Force while writing her)_

Now, most of the attention of the class was on the two students.

"Watch out, Mitsurigi-san!" One of the girls shouted at the bench beside them.

A basketball flew towards the cat-eyed giant whom now Rin knew as Mitsurigi. In a split second, Mitsurigi who was surprised didn't have time to dodge it, Rin noticed and he timed the ball as it flew near his reach, he punched it sideways, the ball bouncing, losing its momentum towards the girls who jumped out of the way.

Mitsurigi was taken aback by his action, "I-I didn't need your help, I could catch it by my-" She froze as she saw Rin's nose bleeding.

Rin covered half his face with his free hand, looking annoyed, he did not expect the ball's thrust to be that _strong_, he looked at his fist and the skin had started to bruise near the knuckles, if it weren't for his abnormal strength, the ball would've broke through that punch and possibly grazing Mitsurigi, he let out a muffled "Darn it." He tilted his head slightly up, not wanting to worsen the headache in the background and tried to stop the bleeding by pinching his nostrils, which was a bad idea since this would just clot the blood inside till it backflows through his mouth, but before he would let that happen, he ran towards the gym's restroom.

"Who threw the ball!?" Rin heard the teacher shouted as he reached the door, "Okumura-san!"

Without bothering to shut the door behind, Rin felt the blood starting to overflow inside his nose, he reached towards the nearest sink, releasing his hold on his nostrils and leaned over, using his arms to support him.

Rin breathed a sigh of relief through his mouth as the blood trickled down the drain, calming his self from the running since it worsened the pounding headache it came with. He tasted copper from the corner of his mouth and spit it out, turning the faucet on, he watched the traces of blood disappear along the water.

"Okumura-san!" That was the teacher's voice coming from the door, Rin stayed leaning over the sink, waiting for his nose bleed to drain out. She gasped as she saw the blood, "How are you feeling? Do you need to go to the hospital?"

Rin made a grumbling noise "Relax Sensei, this is normal."

"This is not normal! You're turning paler by the second and you're sweating, I've already called the nurse in." She went over to a table nearby with all the necessities of a bathroom, luckily it had a box of tissue. She took the box and pulled out a few.

"It's just the headache, Sensei. " Rin took the tissue and wiped the stains of blood above the lip of his mouth. The teacher saw the bleeding had lessened and told Rin to stand upright, Rin followed and pinched just below the bridge of his nose. "Uhm, thanks Sensei, I'll just wait for the nurse, you still have a class to teach." He noticed the crowding students outside the bathroom.

"Alright, back away students!" Rin recognized the voice of the nurse, "Give way for the nurse! Where is he!? Okumura-san, it's only been the second week and we meet _again_." She glided inside as she slithered through the students blocking the way.

Rin groaned and rolled his eyes at her.

* * *

After insisting the Nurse that his headache had finally disappeared, thanks to both the Paracetamol she gave and the DCR pill he took just in case. He got dismissed early.

And now he was going just walking around the school to pass time till Cram classes start. He met Shiemi on the way to one of the many school fountains, she looked lonely sitting by herself there so Rin joined her.

"Hey, what's up?" Rin greeted, Shiemi sat upright in surprise, looking for who the voice belonged to. She looked behind her and saw Rin, rounding the fountain as he walks towards her.

"Oh, Hi Rin. Are you okay? You look drained."

"Something happened in class, I'm fine now. So what are we going to do today?"

"We have Practical Training today." Shiemi was searching for something inside her kimono.

"Sideburns-sensei's class? I hope I'll get to join in, the teacher let me join back in the regular class, and everything would have gone smoothly until that ball had to ruin everything…" Rin grumbled the last part so Shiemi didn't really understand what he was talking about.

"Here."

Shiemi brought out a hand towards Rin, the blue pendant on her hand. "Yuki-chan forgot this at the garden."

"You give it to him, Shiemi. He'll appreciate it once he knew a friend returns it."

She drew her hand back and fiddled with the blue gem, "Uhm…I- I…I haven't asked him yet…"

Rin's head whipped towards her at a speed he didn't know he had, "A-asked what? Like, like asked…out?" Rin stuttered.

"Asked out? What's that?" She asked innocently.

"Uhm…you know…when-when-" Rin reddened, why was he even feeling flustered? Is it because this is the first time he had a conversation about this topic? And to a girl at that too "…you like-like him?"

"Yes! I like Yuki-chan!" Shiemi announced happily, standing up on the fountain's pavement.

Rin was amazed at Shiemi's courage to confess out-front about her love for his brother.

"And I like you too Rin!"

Rin choked on his saliva at that, he gave her an incredulous look, "Are you serious!?" his red face had grown even redder, feeling embarrassed and aghast. "No, Shiemi! You need to pick one!"

Shiemi looked disheartened at the negative response Rin let out, her shoulders drooped and her smile fell.

Rin regretted making her sad, "I- I mean, sorry. I didn't expect you to be that kind of person…"

"I just wanted to make a lot of _friends_**.**" She spoke softly. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have forced myself on you."

Rin took a moment to process what she said, his mouth made an 'O' shape as he understood what Shiemi actually wanted, he slapped his self on the forehead for assuming, "Friends?"

Shiemi nodded meekly.

"So that's what you meant. Uhm…yeah, I want to be friends." Rin scratched his not-even-itching cheek while he was appreciating a nearby bush.

"Really!?" Shiemi brightened up, and then her mood fell back again, "I really am out of place here." She added, smiling sadly.

Rin looked back at her again, "What does that suppose to mean?"

"I only attended cram classes because Sir Fujimoto introduced you and Yuki to me, I thought I could join in even if I haven't set my mind on becoming an exorcist yet."

"Hey, it's alright. All kinds of people are here, like me, I was _forced_ to attend, but I decided to become an Exorcist in the end."

"You were forced?"

Blue eyes widened, he had said too much. Fortunately, someone interrupted their conversation with a loud, "Heeeyyy!" from Shima.

The two saw the Kyoto trio and Yukio walking towards them.

"Nii-san!? Are you alright!?" That was Yukio.

"Are you okay now, man?" Shima asked too, and then snickered as he remembered something, "You should've seen Mitsurigi and some of our classmates after that incident, they look so ashamed at the way they acted to you before, that'll teach them not to judge someone with their looks."

Yukio's head snapped at Shima, "You mean Nii-san's being bullied!?" and then back to Rin, "And you didn't say anything!?"

"It wasn't really bullying, it's like a silent treatment…"

"That's bullying!"

"Aw man, Yukio, calm down, I'm already used to it." Rin waved a hand to him to shut him up.

Shiemi ran up beside Rin, who now was across Yukio. Rin wondered if she's going to ask Yukio this time and probably stir up some kind of misunderstanding.

"Yu-Yuki-chan!"

Now all attention was on their female kimono-clad classmate.

"I-I...I _like_ you!"

At the same time, Rin slapped his forehead _again_, Yukio along with Suguro and Konekomaru blushed at the confession, while Shima whistled.

"And you guys too!" She looked at the Kyoto trio.

"Ayayaay~ A foursome eh? I can share." Shima commented, Shiemi just gave him a confused stare and then composed herself back to continue what she was supposed to say.

"Can we be friends!?" She shouted and bowed slightly.

"O-Oh…" The four chorused as the realization hit them.

Rin snickered at their expressions, especially Yukio's which looked a bit crestfallen.

* * *

The training ground was big, there was a tower structure in the middle where their teacher was standing on, below that were giant toad-like demons locked in a cage, and around them was a wall designed to keep the demons in that area but enough for people to interact with.

Above the wall, which was leveled with where their teacher was on the tower, Rin grumpily crossed his arms, sulking and scowling at their teacher.

"Nii-san, you're gonna get that face stuck if you keep it up."

Rin gave up with his glaring since it did hurt if he keeps on going with it, "I know. I just wanted to join too."

Yukio gave him a comforting pat on the shoulder.

"Okumura Yukio! Suguro Ryuji! You two are up." The teacher called.

"Well, I need to go."

Suguro and Yukio climbed down where the demons, called Reapers, are chained on. The two teens readied their selves at a few distances from the cage where the teacher told them to start.

The clang of the cage's door opening signaled for them to start running from the Reaper. Both Suguro and Yukio were running at the same pace.

"Looks like they're at the same speed." A female student, whom Rin knew as Paku, commented from the sidelines.

"Run faster, Bro!" Rin cheered seeing as Yukio lagging behind. "You're lagging!"

"This isn't a competition, Rin-kun." Konekomaru adjusted his glasses.

Meanwhile, Shima did the same but with Suguro. "Bon! You can do it! Beat Yuki-_chan_!"

Kamiki in the background scoffed at their antics, "They acting like a bunch of children."

Both runners flushed and felt ashamed at the supportive display of their classmates.

"SHUT UP!" Bon shouted angrily at the two of them as he ran facing them.

Rin recoiled at the face Suguro made, while Shima laughed it off since he was used to it.

"Geez, that looked terrifying, it's close as Yukio's rage face."

"That's normal. Bon is just very serious about this Exorcist business. I mean, he has this really great ambition."

"Ambition?"

Konekomaru butted in, "I don't think Bon would like you talking about his _ambition_, Shima."

"Oh, relax, Koneko. You see, Bon… wants to be an exorcist so he can defeat Satan." Shima paused and then laughed. "It's funny, right?"

_'Defeat Satan, huh?' _Rin thought back to Shiro's possession, the blood loss and the pain his Old man must have gone through because of it.

"Shima! You shouldn't laugh at it!" Konekomaru then switched to Rin, "Bon is working hard to restore our temple, which was ruined in the Blue Night."

"The Blue Night? What's that?"

"Huh? You don't know?" Shima asked but their chat got interrupted by a phone ringing.

"Who's the idiot not putting their phone on silent mode?" Suguro huffed from below the arena. Yukio sluggishly followed behind as their run had finally ended.

"What is it, Honey? "All looked up to their teacher, phone in hand on one ear, "Now!? Alright, my little Kitty-cat!"

Both runners had now climbed up the arena and joined their classmates. Bon was grumbling about irresponsible teachers, Yukio clearly heard it and a cartoonish sweat drop formed on his head.

"Listen up, Everyone! We're taking a break!" Sideburns-Sensei announced, "Reapers are peaceful demons, but will attack when you're minds are weak. So stay out of the arena until I get back!" And the teacher marched out towards the exit.

"What the hell!? Can he do that? And he calls himself a teacher!?" Suguro irately asked, wiping off the sweat forming from his forehead.

"So what's the Blue Night about?"

Everyone looked back at Rin, Konekomaru forgot about that question, Shima looked guilty as he gives Suguro side glances, Suguro just raised a brow at him, while Yukio looked troubled and the rest of the girls, plus the Ventriloquist, were merely listening in the background.

"The Blue Night refers to the slaughter of powerful clergymen around the _world_ sixteen years ago. Our temple got attacked too." Konekomaru gestured a hand to Bon, "Bon's father was a monk, and we were his pupils." He then pointed a hand towards him and Shima.

"My old man told us that powerful exorcists started bleeding all over, spewed blue fire, and then _died_." This time, it was Suguro who continued the explanation.

Both twins remembered the same thing that happened with Shiro, the only difference was that he survived it.

"And because of the deaths that occurred, the temple had a bad reputation, people calling it cursed." Suguro spat out the last word with venom. "Anyway, why are you talking about this?"

Both Konekomaru and Shima flinched. Suguro looked at them, "No you didn't…"

"It was Shima." Koneko pointed a finger at him.

"Koneko, you traitor!" Shima cried.

"Shima!" Suguro marched towards him while Shima cowered from whatever Bon was going to do to him. Bon grabbed his collar and pulled him towards his face. "What did you tell him!?" He asked, shaking the poor pink-haired teen back and forth.

"What's wrong with knowing your ambition, Suguro?" Asked Rin, Suguro froze, stopping him from rocking Shima's brain out from his skull.

"What? Are you gonna laugh about it!?"

"Huh!? No! If becoming an Exorcist is what it takes to get back at Satan, then count me in!" Rin pulled a fist in the air.

"Rin…" Shiemi sounded behind the group.

Suguro felt the blood rush to his cheeks, "Don't you dare think lightly of my goal, Okumura!"

"B-but I'm not!" Rin defended, "I…I. Like you, Satan did something I could never forgive, and I'm gonna defeat him!"

Laughter filled the room, Kamiki cackled at where she sat. "You two? Defeat Satan? That's stupid. No exorcist could even face him without getting burned to death."

Suguro seethed at her, "Don't you dare laugh! The Paladin survived a fight against Satan! That's proof there that an Exorcist can fight him in battle!"

Kamiki scoffed, "And how sure are you that _that_ is true?"

"It is, isn't it? Yukio-kun?" Konekomaru asked him and then looked at Rin too.

Both twins looked at each other, deciding whether to tell them or not.

"Oh, and what does Okumura know about it?" Kamiki asked, tilting her head slightly.

Shiemi jumped forward, backing the twins "They would know because the Paladin is Yuki and Rin's Dad!" Kamiki displayed a surprised expression.

Shiemi turned back to the twins, "It is true, right? I heard rumors from the Exorcists visiting the shop. "

Rin stood straight, a firm glare pointed at Kamiki, "It's true, the Old man survived fighting that bastard!"

"See, Satan can be _defeated_! " Suguro shouted back at Kamiki, "So quit your yapping when you know nothing about it!"

"If the rumors are true…" Kamiki looked over the twins, "Are you the sons of Satan then?"

Silence followed. Now everyone's eyes are on the Okumura brothers.

"Wha-"

"How did you come up with that idea, Kamiki-san?" Yukio cut Rin off, further stopping him from revealing something they don't want others to know, with all the calmness he could muster, he asked. "What rumors are you talking about?"

"Oh, you know. The seniors have been talking, about the issue that the current Paladin is plotting with Satan and that he was raising the sons of the demon."

"That's-"

"You're wrong!" This time, Rin cut Yukio off. "The Old man isn't doing anything like that at all! He would never conspire with _that_ demon!"

"But you're not denying the fact that he _was_ raising the Satan spawns."

Rin froze, his teeth clenched, his Father was definitely not plotting with Satan, but he did raise _them_. Why did the old man raise them anyway, "He wasn't raising…"

"As far as I know, I don't remember Dad raising anyone but me and my brother." Yukio thought it was his time to butt in, he adjusted his glasses, his voice solid "I can't confirm that rumor about Satan's spawns, but I assure you, Dad is not plotting with Satan. He is a good and kind-hearted man, there is no way he would do that and betray the Order. He is still the Paladin so the Order still trusts him. Also, rumors are started by _haters, _spread by _fools, _and accepted by _idiots_. "

Kamiki turned beet red, "I-I never said I accepted it! I was just asking about it. Tch!" She then whipped her head away from Yukio, her purple twin-tailed hair swinging from the action.

"So…" Konekomaru spoke, "Is it true that the Paladin fought with Satan?"

Both twins nodded.

"Oh, well that's good to hear. Right, Bon?"

"Ah-Uhm, yeah." Suguro had an idea and he smirked, "Real or not, if Satan does have a spawn then, it'll be the first obstacle towards defeating him, and I'll make sure to kill it. It'll be the best payback for the people who died from the Blue Night. Right, Okumura?... Oi, Okumura, why are you zoning out for?"

Rin snapped out from the words Suguro said, "Ah-yeah. Yeah." He answered. He then glanced at his twin who wore the same expression he had.

Hurt.

* * *

"Amaimon," Mephisto called towards the green-haired demon drinking a carton of juice on his couch. "What did I tell you about disrupting my school?"

"To not to."

"And what was that incident at the Gym?" Mephisto asked, he thought back to the Teacher who asked for a copy of the camera footage during her PE class, she told him that a ball came flying towards one of her student from out of nowhere. Mephisto had a hard time trying to convince the teacher to leave the problem to him.

"Behemoth was playing with the ball."

"Amaimon! I told you to keep an eye on our littlest brother, not damage his body."

"I wasn't even aiming at him, I wanted to see if his reflexes are fast." Amaimon drank from the juice carton, "He's a weird one. He's not even using a vessel but exerting his power is attacking his body. How boring. What about the other one?"

"Don't Amaimon. They're as fragile as a human. So, what does Father say about it?"

"He's not too happy with your plan, he also warned about the Pillars."

Mephisto remained quiet, his eyes glazing as he thought about the _Pillars_ that both Amaimon and Shiro mentioned. "Ah, it's not just Lucifer were dealing with then. This is quite an interesting turn of events."

* * *

_BONUS SCENE (I don't know where to put this…):_

It was dinner time, and Yukio wanted to eat at the cafeteria. Since the previous nights before were just cup noodles and snacks, which he felt guilty doing that to his brother, half-demon metabolism or not, his brother should be eating healthy food especially with all the blood he lost with the many episodes he had since last week. He went to look for his brother, and lo and behold, the person whom he was looking for, (while pretending not to panic), was in the cafeteria, but not just the cafeteria, he was inside the kitchen, helping the cook with the cooking.

Yukio nearly toppled over the counter, he eyed the person clad in a medical mask, gloves, hair-net and an apron. "Nii-san!?"

Rin looked behind him and saw Yukio, "Oh! Hey Yukio! I got a part-time job!" He grinned at him.

"Wait!" The Prefect called near the counter who was also clad in an apron and a hair-net, "You weren't lying about you being the older twin?"

"Prefect-senpai?" Yukio asked seeing the Prefect inside too.

"You thought I was lying!?" Rin cried, waving a spatula angrily at the Prefect.

"Uh… care to explain why my brother is in _there_?" Yukio demanded.

* * *

_Review Response:_

Miyaraa: Rin's case isn't that "limited", since his disease is different than a normal autoimmune disease, like what Yukio explained in this chapter. I had a classmate back at High School, she's a Lupus patient and she can do things normally, but of course, she's not allowed to do _really_ exhausting stuff like doing sports that involve running but she can play sports like badminton, she takes steroids so she looks plump, Rin here don't because instead of steroids, he takes the DCR solution which I made up that will slow down the demon cells that attacks his body.

Aaelyn, IruMinO: Thanks for leaving a review! :3

_Author's Notes:_

This took me longer to piece the scenes together, that and I gotten sidetracked oops, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Also, _Pillaarrsss!_


	11. On and Off switch

**Chapter 11: On and Off switch (I ran out of titles... D:)**

* * *

"**Foreign language or just English**"

_'thoughts'_

"dialogue"

_*demon talk/telepathy*_

* * *

Yukio watched as the researcher clad in the laboratory's white coat fumble with the scanners like it was his first time doing it. Now that he got a look at the researcher, the guy does seem new since Yukio never saw him last time he was here.

While the researcher was too busy setting up the devices, Yukio inconspicuously walked near the tables where piles of papers and a laptop lay.

The laptop was running some applications. On the right side of the screen was a silhouette of a person's physique, there were details written on the sides but it was hard for him to read with how small the fonts were and how far his distance was from it. On the left side was a list of Nephilim codes, one being his and was highlighted by the mouse hovering above it.

He looked back at the image again, above the picture had the word 'GENERAL INFORMATION', next to it was an arrow, meaning there were more than just that.

The researcher groaned and he muttered something that Yukio didn't understand, the guy had his back to him so he never noticed Yukio sliding away from the table. The scanners were still disassembled and the researcher probably was having a hard time figuring it out.

The guy stood up and faced Yukio, "**Stay here, kid.**" And he went out of the room.

As the door closed shut, Yukio leaped back to the table, curiosity getting the best of him. He read the details under the General Information tab, it was only about his name, age, address and his biological parents. His eyes widened at the name encoded for his mother, he asked Father Fujimoto about it but he never mentioned her. So how did the Order knew about her?

_'Yuri Egin' _Yukio read it in his mind, next to it was the father, his face wrinkled in disgust at the name.

Moving on, his hand worked over the computer mouse and clicked the arrow next to the General Information tab, a list appeared next to it, _Blood Volume, Physical Attributes, DNA composition, Danger Level_…. There were a lot and then the last one was out of place, it was an abbreviation_ E.N.D.I._, Yukio hovered the mouse on it and the meaning popped out 'Extra Notes and Details of Importance'.

He clicked on that and the ENDI tab opened, it was just notes encoded in bullet form.

•Class A subject (Top priority)

•Human but resistant to blue flames of Satan.

•No traces of DNA possessions.

•Severe Temptaint on the left eye.

_'Severe temptaint? On my left eye?'_ Yukio wondered if that's why it had a slight change in color, maybe it did react to the elixir they injected him. But does that mean they suspect his eye already?

Returning back to the left side of the screen, he clicked the code above his, his brother's information showed up. He then switched the tab, he was supposed to click on the ENDI tab but one of the pieces of the scanner device fell which he jumped up from the noise as the piece fell on the tiled floor and accidentally clicked on the danger level instead.

The image went from the silhouette to a big red circle and a _Level 9_ in the middle of it.

Yukio's eyes widened again, was his brother that dangerous?

He heard footsteps closing in, he immediately returned the screen back to his information and returned the mouse back to its place. He ran over to a side of the room where there were chairs and sat there as if he wasn't doing anything suspicious at all.

The doors opened again, two new researchers and Dr. Dragulesc entered.

"Hello, Yukio Okumura."

Yukio stood up and greeted the doctor a good morning.

The researchers set the scanners up while Dragulesc walked over to where the computer was.

Yukio waited for them to finish and he was asked to stand at the center of the scanners, Dragulesc pressed a button and the devices lit up. It was just blinking for a few seconds, he stood there awkwardly, the researchers were eyeing him while Dragulesc was working on the computer.

The monocle he was wearing reflected a distorted image of the screen, Yukio couldn't make anything of it but he hoped it wasn't about his eye or he'll get injected with the elixir again.

The doctor sighed, "There seem to be no changes with your readings. And we will stop injecting you with the elixir, you're free to go now, Yukio."

* * *

"How far are you in your field training? I heard it was Kirigakure Shura teaching your class." Asked Homare as she was folding her sleeves up to her elbows.

Dragulesc had told Rin that he was to undergo combat training instead of summoning his flames since it took almost all of Rin's concentration just to conjure up by will. This way, they'll be able to test the elixir's stability on his demonic strength _and_ prepare him for when he would _officially_ become the Order's weapon.

"Shura-sensei isn't doing a good job at it. Half of the class collapsed when she used _them_ for demonstrating the knight, dragoon and area meisters." Rin unhappily adjusted the tube lines connecting from the nape of his neck to the DCR machine. _(AN: Ch 102 of the manga, page 6, excluding the cover, the first panel, that's what I'm trying to poorly describe here, pls. forgive me D:, and then Chapter 97, page 21, on Lucy's neck, it's the same process for Rin.)_

One of the containers on the machine was the DCR solution while the other was the elixir. He understood what the DCR was meant for but the elixir, he only had a vague explanation, Ma'am Homare told him it acted as an _ON_ switch for his demonic power.

"It's pronounced as Aria, not Area." Corrected Homare, unamused at his mispronunciation, "Field and practical training includes teaching _Exwires_ basic hand-to-hand combat."

"Exwires?"

"Aren't you an Exwire already?"

"No…what's that?"

Homare with her ever-stoic face looked at him with dead eyes, "It's the next _level_ after Page, if you pass after Exwire, you'll be officially entitled with a meister and become an exorcist. I thought they would conduct the certification exam about this time now."

Rin blinked, clueless at what exam she was talking about.

The other people inside the chamber were the researchers, they were simply eyeing the kid's movements and sometimes glance at the monitor. One complained about how this was more important than flame training, they needed more samples from the source to cross-examine their artificial blue flames.

Homare had started to explain to the kid about the basics of hand-to-hand combat, they were starting with evading and dodging. The kid's reflexes were indeed fast, he wouldn't look constricted if the tube lines weren't attached to him, they continued it until five minutes into their lesson the machine's alarm went off, signifying his upcoming attack, Doctor Dragulesc had it switched from the DCR to the elixir before he went out and the solution automatically entered his body.

Rin felt weird, the effects of the solutions were definitely doing some changes, it was like his muscles were trying to adjust with the strength the elixir was boosting him up with, sometimes it would feel like something was crawling under his skin. His focus wavered and Homare was able to hit him in the jaw _hard_. That was going to bruise tonight.

"Ow."

He rubbed the pain away and the researchers' were observing him intently, he mouthed a 'What?' at them.

"Apologies. Does it still hurt?"

Rin realizes, "No… no, not anymore, what happened?"

One of the researchers walked towards him, Homare stepped aside to give him space and the man held Rin's chin up, "It's healed." He spoke in Japanese, he tried to press the skin with his thumb, "**It's definitely healed.**" He announced at the other researchers.

The man turned Rin around, he pulled back the collar of his shirt and looked at where the syringe was connected to his skin. The reddening of the skin had receded to where the needles were.

"**Interesting. The Elixir may have developed his demonic healing too. If only we can test it more…**"

The man holding on to Rin nodded at the rest of his team, another researcher came in and Rin's eyes widened at what he was carrying. It was a scalpel, he knew that when he was looking into Yukio's books about medical stuff, that and his history with hospitals.

"Uh…what are you going to do?" he asked but was ignored, he then looked at Homare for answers but the woman just watched him.

"Hey!" Rin pulled back his arm and stumbled away from the researcher's grasp, the elixir still in effect. "Are you trying to slice me!?"

The researcher sighed, "Yes, but only once, we need to see how strong the healing works on your body."

Rin gulped, should he agree on it? It was only _once_ he said. "Oh…alright then…"

The one with the scalpel reached for his left arm, he grabbed it and turned to have it face him. He placed the needle just above the skin, Rin felt nervous, he tried to look away so his mind won't have to focus on it.

Rin felt the burning pain on his arm as the blade slid over his skin. The researcher felt the tug of Rin's arm as he cut him.

Now two researchers hovered over him, eyes focused on his arm, Rin looked at it too, the blood flowed out of the wound, but stopped when the wound was _stitching_ itself together.

Rin felt half horrified and amazed at that.

"**Did you time it? What about the scanners? Are they on?**" asked the researcher to his team.

"**Yes, they're on.**"

"**Incredible, even our Nephilims doesn't heal that fast.**"

"**Has the readings turned up yet?**"

The researchers had now crowded over the computer and scanners, Homare walked to Rin and held his arm to wipe the blood off. The skin was clear of any wounds and scars.

"Shall we get back to your strength training?"

The two continued where they left, meanwhile, the doors of the chambers opened and Dragulesc entered, he raised a questioning brow at his team flocking over the computer.

"What is this?"

"Ah, Professor. The kid has developed his demonic healing, his DNA composition and Danger level has been updated."

"And how did you figure it out? You didn't cut him did you?"

The researcher paused, "Uh. We did."

Dragulesc watched the kid evading the random punches Homare was throwing at him, "Did you ask his permission then?"

"Well. Uhm yes."

"I see." The old doctor walked over his team and told them the report he got from the other son of Satan.

"**Wouldn't it be best if we…you know. Keep them near?" One of the researchers whispered, "This could speed up the artificial flame and we could get tissue samples from the other one to figure out how he is resistant to the blue flame.**"

"**I agree, I don't understand why the Grigori agreed to put them in school.**"

"**Indeed, but I have an _experience_ that depriving them _now_ from their social interaction would have undesirable effects on their psychological state and the risks it would bring would be devastating.**"(1) Dragulesc explained.

* * *

Rin and Yukio got out of the Laboratory much much earlier than they expected. They had switched to their school uniforms and now were following Todo-sensei when Rin noticed Yukio was carrying a book he didn't have before.

"What's that?"

"Oh, it's a book about Demon Taming."(2)

"You want to be a Tamer? I thought you wanted to be a Dragoon and Doctor."

"Uh… no. Its-" Yukio slowed his pace so he could have distance from Todo-sensei, Rin evened him. "It's about the author."

"Okay? Why are we whispering?"

Lifting the book up, he pointed at the name of the author. "Yuri Egin. It's our mother's."

Rin stopped, Yukio did too. Meanwhile, Todo continued to walk away. Rin gave him a look that meant 'Are you serious?'

Yukio nodded, "It was hard looking for it in the library, it's the _only_ book I found there."

"And you stole it?"

"I'm going to give it back…they're not gonna notice it anyway, they seem to be hiding all the information about her."

"Hey, if she's the author, then… does that make her an Exorcist?"

"Yep."

"That's… awesome! How did you find out?"

Yukio grinned at him "I may have sneaked into a computer."

"What are you two doing?" Todo asked, looking baffled like he lost a couple of _children_. Yukio immediately turned the book away from Todo's sight, if the Order were hiding information about their mother then it would be bad if they knew a book about her still existed.

"I was wondering, " Rin started, "How are you and Ma'am Homare related? I asked her but she just ignored me."

Todo smiled at the kid, "You could say she's my daughter." He started to walk and the twins followed, "But she was raised away from me so were not that close." They arrived at a door and Todo put the Key in. He gestured for them to enter first.

Yukio was the second to enter, half-way in, Todo grabbed hold of the book he was carrying. Yukio turned back, refusing to let go of the book that was still facing down.

"What is it, Todo-sensei?"

"Oh nothing, the book caught my eye, I don't remember this book was part of the school's curriculum."

"It's a book I borrowed from Father Fujimoto."

"Oh?" Todo forced the book to face up, fortunately, Yukio's fingers were covering the author's name. "Guide to Demon Taming? Are you planning to be a Tamer?"

"I…might." Answered Yukio but Todo seemed unconvinced.

Rin poked his head in, "Uhm, what are you waiting for? Let's go! It's Saturday and Cram classes won't start till five!" He grabbed Yukio's free arm and pulled him in, the book breaking away from Todo's grasp.

Yukio watched as Todo smiled and waved at them, closing the door while he stayed on the other side.

"That was close…"

"Ugh, Todo-sensei has this aura of creepiness around him sometimes." Rin remarked, they reached one of the school's park and decided to stop there. Looking around, there were only a few people, mostly the school's staff and some students who were staying in the dormitory. Rin picked a tree and sat under the shade. Yukio followed.

"So how did it go with your eye?"

"Dr. Dragulesc said they wouldn't inject me anymore, so I guess they haven't found out about it."

"That's good news then. One less thing to worry about."

"And you? We got released earlier than expected."

"Oh that, they didn't let me do the flame training stuff, instead they made me do combat training. Said its faster to test the elixir and the DCR solution."

"Combat? Like hand-to-hand? You don't look like it."

"Yeah, but I got hit a _lot_ actually, then my demonic healing kicked in, it healed the bruises but the injection marks on my neck are still there, the elixir's effect disappeared before they got the needles out. " Rin absent-mindedly rubbed the surrounding skin on the nape of his neck.

Now that Rin mentioned it, Yukio noticed that there weren't any fresh injection shots on his arms anymore.

The two looked up when they heard shouts coming not far from where they were, two exorcists were running towards the school ground's gates.

They couldn't make out anything from the shouts but it was about a demon and they also mentioned the Paladin.

This caught Rin and Yukio's attention.

"Let's follow them." Suggested Rin as he stood up, fixing his sling bag, he grabbed Yukio's book and put it inside.

"Hey, the book –"

"Come on! They mentioned about the Paladin, the Old man's probably where they're going!"

Rin pulled Yukio up and dragged him half-running to trail the Exorcists. The two they were following stopped at a door, they put in a key and went in. Rin was able to reach the door before it closed and didn't hesitate to hop in with Yukio in tow.

They found their selves outside a guardhouse of the True Cross Academy Southern Entrance, the gates were closed shut judging from the cars stopped over the other side of the bridge. On the other side were a group of exorcists keeping their distance from a large cat demon that was cornering one of the guards.

"What are you two doing here!?"

Another guard, injured on the arm, asked. He looked dirty like he rolled on the ground.

"We Uhm…" Yukio tried to explain but Rin cut him off.

"What happened? Did that demon hurt you!?"

A roar from the demon made them look back, the group of exorcists was throwing holy grenades at it but it didn't affect it, but it did take its attention away from the guard it was cornering. One of the exorcists behind the demon was able to slip in and dragged the terrified guard away.

The demon looked back at its prey and found out it disappeared, it violently turned around and saw the exorcist dragging the guard, it jumped up at one of the bridges road sign and pounced the exorcist, releasing his hold of the guard while the exorcist was thrown away from him.

"Kawanaka-san! Are you okay?" (3)

"Shoot it with Tranq bullets!"

"It's not having any effect!?"

"Damn it! Where is the Paladin!? We've already contacted him minutes ago!"

"Ichinose-san! Run!"

One of the exorcists threw a smoke grenade, the smoke immediately spread out, taking out their vision from the demon, steps were heard and Ichinose, the guard, ran towards the exorcists where Rin and Yukio were at.

The guard together with the twins placed an arm in front of them, "Get back, we don't know if Kuro would still chase Ichinose-san."

"Kuro? The Paladin's familiar? But why is he attacking the guard?" Yukio asked, clearly confused from the information.

The guard looked ashamed, "We were discussing about the recent rumors, and Ichinose-san was bad-mouthing the Paladin, we weren't aware that Kuro was near."

"Bad-mouthing Dad?" asked Yukio, slowly getting angry, "Just because of rumors, you're all spouting bad things about him!?"

"Get back!"

The group of exorcists caught Ichinose but Kuro was still following him, they all huddled back in the guardhouse, almost nearing the twins.

"Holy Water, Holy Silver, even Holy Alcohol, we tried almost everything already!"

Yukio looked beside him and Rin was missing, his brother's sling bag on the ground.

"Oi! What are you doing!? Who let a student here!?" A female exorcist asked.

"Nii-san!?" shouted Yukio as he grabbed the bag off the ground and ran forward to follow Rin.

The exorcists grabbed hold of them, "It's dangerous, so get back!"

Rin could hear it, it was in pieces but he could still make up a coherent sentence. He focused on the voice and a shot of pain grew in his head, if only he was under the elixir's effect then this would've been easy.

_*…dare… Shiro… kind man….*_

_*…sly…traitor….*_

He struggled away from the exorcist, unaware that he used his demon strength to do so and now the headache worsened. Still, he focused more.

_*You humans! How dare you! Shiro isn't a traitor! He isn't a sly and evil person, he is kind and sweet and would pet me and give me sak__ē.*_

"You're right!"

Yukio heard Rin shout, he guessed that he was using his 'demon talk' to understand the cat sidhe, later giving him a headache and a nosebleed. The DCR pills were in his bag, currently with him, so he tried to pull away from the exorcist grabbing him and dive forward, evading the rest of the exorcist who was trying to drag him back.

"Yeah, you're right! Shiro is kind and uh yeah _sweet_." Rin hoped no one would tell Shiro that, he would be so embarrassed to face him, "He's nice and a good person! So don't believe the lies they were saying!"

_*You believe he's nice? They were just lies?*_

"Yes. They're just lies, so stop hurting the guard!"

_*They were disrespecting Shiro! They need to be taught a lesson!* _The cat sidhe growled again.

"Nii-san!" Yukio ran to Rin's side, "I don't think you can talk this out, come on let them handle it."

"N-not yet," Rin pushed Yukio's hand away weakly, occasionally wincing at his growing headache. "I told him the rumors are just lies, but he still wants to punish the guard for disrespecting the old man."

The twins were manhandled by the exorcists, dragging them back.

"It's ready to pounce again! Ichinose-san it's still after you!"

The giant cat sidhe crouched and he leaped over the twins and towards the group of exorcists who were treating Ichinose. The exorcists scrambled away leaving the guard vulnerable.

"THAT'S ENOUGH KURO!"

The cat sidhe towered over the poor guard, he stopped to find the source of the voice.

There at the guardhouse' door stood Shiro, equipped with an exorcist belt and was still carrying a shotgun on his back, behind him was a battlefield, he closed it shut to mute the noise.

_*Shiro!*_

The cat sidhe jumped off the guard and skidded over to Shiro. Shiro placed a comforting hand over the cat's head, "I told you not to hurt the people here!"

_*B-but he was disrespecting you.*_

"No matter what they were doing, if they aren't hurting anyone, don't attack them. Do you understand?"

_*I just want him to apologize, Shiro!*_ The cat sidhe was now mewling. _*They were saying a lot of bad things about you!*_

"Kuro, do you understand?"

_*I won't hurt them, but-*_ Kuro twisted his head back and growled at the guard, _*- I want him to apologize!*_

Shiro was taken aback by Kuro's behavior, the cat would usually go back to his small form but he was still big and continued his growling at the guard.

"He couldn't tame the cat sidhe." An exorcist figured, "Should we take it out now?"

"Ichinose-san!" shouted Yukio under the arms of two exorcists trying to keep him in place, "Just apologize to the Paladin, Kuro just wants you to apologize."

"What?"

"Yukio?" asked Shiro in the background.

"Argh!" Rin couldn't resist rolling his eyes at them, "You were dissing the Paladin, Kuro heard you, and now he wants you to apologize to him!"

"Wait. Rin too?" asked Shiro who was still in the background, "Why are they here?"

"Oh." Ichinose got up from the floor and sat facing the Paladin, "I-Uhm, I'm sorry Kuro, Sir Fujimoto." He bowed slightly.

Kuro nodded at him, then Shiro just looked confused, with a puff of smoke, Kuro had transformed into a normal-sized black cat with two tails, he ran to Shiro and leaped over his shoulder, snuggling the man's neck.

Seeing that the problem had now been resolved, Ichinose had to faint from all the hassle he had to go through to escape from the demon. The exorcist doctors had started to treat him then.

Meanwhile, the exorcist holding down the twins also checked on them if they were injured. One of the students was having a nosebleed and the exorcist asked for a doctor.

Shiro saw Rin having an attack, "Let me handle it." He paced towards Rin and pulled him down to sit on the ground in case he collapses.

"Uh..old man?"

Shiro grabbed hold of Rin's arm to still him in place, he then rummaged in the medical box an exorcist brought in, he took a fist full of tissue and placed it under Rin's nostrils, the tissue soaking from the blood from his nose.

"Uh…Dad." Started Yukio from beside him, he already brought out the DCR pill and a water bottle, "It's better to drain the blood out."

"No, what if he collapses while he was leaning over?" By this time, Kuro has leaped from Shiro and then to the ground near Rin, watching the kid. "He'll hit his head!"

"Calm down Dad, just let him take the meds, then he'll be alright." Yukio explained, lifting the pill up to show him.

_*Are you alright?*_ asked Kuro to Rin.

Rin looked over the cat, his headache was starting up again. He groaned.

Shiro heard the strained groan, and now he panicked if he was about to collapse he'll bound to cough blood out, "Rin! Are you going to collapse!? " He then looked over to Yukio, "He's going to collapse! Yukio call an ambulance!"

"No, he's not, Dad! Just calm down!" shouted Yukio back, "It's because of Kuro!"

"What? Kuro?" Shiro looked back to the cat who was tilting its head.

Yukio now faced Rin, "Nii-san, just take the pill now." He gave the pill to Rin and handed him the uncapped water bottle.

Shiro took the bloody tissue away from the kid's nose to let him take the medicine. His other hand still grasped on to the other's arm. He discarded the used tissue and pulled out another set.

Rin gave Yukio the water bottle back and took the tissue from Shiro's hand so he can clean the blood away by himself. He then grinned at Shiro as if nothing bad happened.

"I'm okay now, old man."

Shiro gaped at him, his kid was alright, he wasn't on the floor, collapsed and spouting blood. Now he wondered if it was the work of that medicine, or was this the result of having Dragulesc _treat_ him? Or both? But of course, he also wondered why Kuro was to blame based on what Yukio said.

"Are you sure? You're not gonna buckle down on the ground with blood everywhere!?"

Yukio sighed, "He's alright now Dad, don't worry, he already took the pill."

Kuro was meowing again, Rin couldn't understand him anymore now that the DCR had blocked his demon power. He petted the cat and told him, "I can't talk to you right now, Kuro."

"Is the kid alright now, Fujimoto-san?" An exorcist asked, he was wearing glasses and had blonde hair.

"Ah, Kawanaka-san. You looked beaten up." Shiro commented, "Yes. I think." He then looked at Yukio for an explanation.

Yukio just thinned his lips and nodded at him.

"We're going to move out soon once the clearing is done. Thank you for the help, I have already sent a report but Kuro would probably be dismissed from his guard duty with the mess he did."

"I suspect as much, but I can't take him with me yet. I'm still under strict orders from the Grigori."

"I can take him!" Rin happily scratched Kuro's belly.

"Nii-san! You can't! You're gonna have headaches and nosebleeds with him around!"

"I'll just tell him not to talk too much."

"But you can't avoid it if he does!"

"As long as I don't focus too much, it won't affect as much and it'll just be headaches. Paracetamols would work so I won't run out of the pills."

Kawanaka, obviously has no idea what the two were talking about, "Does that mean he'll be his temporary familiar? I can issue a transfer for Kuro."

"Yes."

"No!"

Shiro massaged his temple at his kids. "I don't understand why Yukio's against it, but if it's okay for Rin then alright."

"Very well." Kawanaka left.

"Kuro." Called Shiro, "Can you stay with my sons for now? Can you protect them?"

Kuro rolled over to sit up and nodded at Shiro.

Shiro smiled, "This is Rin and Yukio. You'll be Rin's familiar."

Kuro meowed happily and leaped on Shiro's shoulder again, snuggling him before he leaped on Rin's lap, nudging he's head on Rin's uniform.

Meanwhile, Yukio had a hand over his face. "This is a bad idea."

"Why are you so against it, Yukio? And what is that medicine? And what's wrong with your eye?" asked Shiro, "Wait, what are you two even doing here!? Outside the school grounds!? "

Yukio did a brief explanation, like very brief, because minutes later, another Exorcist burst out of the building's door, his long blonde hair and uniform looked dirty, coming from the same battlefield his Dad went out of.

"Fujimoto! How long are you gonna stay here!? There's another wave coming in and we need you here, now!"

Shiro sighed heavily, "Yes, Arthur, just give me a second."

"I can't stay long, I understand why Yukio would be worried, but Kuro will understand if you explain it to him, so let him know." Shiro gave the two a quick hug before he left with Arthur.

* * *

_Footnotes:_

_1 – You know if they didn't separate Satan from Yuri and experiment on him, he wouldn't have snapped and killed everyone **plus** he would have returned to nature (like Azazel) since that was what he was planning on anyway. If ever Satan does get a vessel he would go find and kill Dragulesc, I mean he's the last person he saw sticking syringes on him before he snapped._

_2 – I think I read that Yuri had published her own books for the exorcists._

_3 - Kawanaka is a canon character, I forgot what chapter he shows up in, but it was that time when Rin and Shiemi were tasked with clearing coal tars at an abandoned building._

_Review Responses:_

_IruMinO, SN22, Arisa risarisarisa : Thank you for leaving reviews!_

_Author's Notes:_

_I actually rewrote this chapter like three times, the first two I ended up with Rin and Yukio breaking down because of the experiments wtf!? It felt so out of place because there should be more chaos and turmoil and torture…okay, I've said a lot._


	12. Rules and Regulations

**Chapter 12: Rules and Regulations**

* * *

_'thoughts'_

"dialogue"

_*demon talk/telepathy*_

* * *

Shura's lips curved in an annoying way as she folded her arms, watching the two male Vatican exorcists interrogate her students.

Yukio was stealing worried glances at her while the exorcists were reminding them about the conditions set during the trial.

Rin was mirroring Shura, arms folded but his expression showed how tired he was of hearing the rules for the second time.

It wasn't like they were trying to escape, they didn't even think of it, they just followed the exorcists through a door that led to the outside of the academy.

"Sir, we were not trying to escape. We overheard the Paladin was there, so we followed them." Yukio tried to reason, "And we weren't alone, there were exorcists around, you can ask Kawanaka-san over there."

The exorcist interrogating Yukio turned around, they're near the door with another teacher, Kawanaka stood obviously confused as to why they were in the Head Branch's Holding Cell.

"We were there with the students, sir. Even after the mission." He then gestured to the person next to him, "And Tsubaki-san here escorted them back to school."

Tsubaki jittered at the mention of his name, "I-uh. Yes, I escorted them. Sir."

Turning back to the students, he eyed the one who they were told to be cautious with. Rin straightened up and relaxed his hands on his lap, he involuntarily gulped sensing the glare of the exorcist.

"Kirigakure-" He sharply called. "-your mission is to monitor the demon spawns and not let them out of the academy grounds, how could you let them escape?"

Shura tsked at the exorcist who was a rank lower than her, she was a senior to him even if they were receiving orders directly from the Grigori he could at least address her properly. "Like the kid said, they weren't escaping. I have my familiar tracking them twenty-four 'ours a day. Ya'll just overreacting."

"Overreacting?" The other Vatican exorcist retorted, "This isn't some_ lower demons_ you're looking after, who knows if they're already conspiring with their kind."

"They're not _demons_." Shura let out, forcing herself to not snap at the exorcists. "And they're not conspiring _with_ demons."

"On the outside, they _might_ look human," The exorcist whom Shura was talking to looked back at the twins again, "But Satan's blood runs in them. So we can not let our guards down."

At the mention of the demon's name, both Kawanaka and Tsubaki's eyes widened at the news.

"We shall report this back to the Vatican, expect another visit, letting one exorcist alone to track two Satan spawns won't be enough. And having them under Mephisto Pheles' care isn't reassuring as he cannot be fully trusted."

A loud slam on metal caught everyone's attention, Rin's hands were clenched atop the table, his teeth gritting in anger.

"Demon spawns… Satan spawns…" Rin seethed, glaring at the two exorcists, "You bastards keep spouting like we're not here listening." He stood up, the chair scraping the floor as it was pushed backward. Kuro jumped down, alert on the floor next to Yukio's seat.

"DID WE ASK TO BE BORN THIS WAY!?" Rin shouted, this time Yukio stood up too but what he did was to try and calm his brother.

"What? Can't accept it? Then go _die_." The words felt like thousands of knives stabbing them on the chest, "Kill yourselves. The Order is already having trouble dealing with a demon king, adding you two would just pile up with our other problems."

"Oi! You're crossing the line!" Shura jumped in, "That's enough!"

"Line!? What line!?" The other exorcist scoffed, "These Satan spawns are causing the demons around the world to become more active, they are looking for _them_. As I said, it's possible that they are conspiring with their kind."

"SHUT THE HELL UP!" Rin flared up, small flames dancing on his shoulder and hair.

The two exorcists readied their weapons, one pulled out a sword and the other a pistol, the blade and the nuzzle pointed at him. "Look at that, he's already showing us signs of threats."

Yukio grabbed Rin by the shoulders, invading his line of sight so Rin's attention would focus on Yukio's words. "Nii-san, calm down! Please!"

"Calm down!? Yukio, are you just gonna let them insult us? Just let them go after telling us to _die!?_" Rin's voice cracked at the last word he spoke.

"So you _are_ going to fight us?" The exorcist with the gun spoke, "I wonder, how far my rank would rise when I get promoted after killing Satan's spawns?"

Rin violently coughs blood out, along with his nose bleeding. He gasped for breath when his coughing stopped for a moment then he began to feel his limbs going limp along with his flames dying out. The table was pushed away as Yukio held Rin up. Kuro watched frantically, having no idea what was happening to his new master.

Cackles erupted, the Vatican exorcist was laughing at them.

"I forgot about that," The one with the sword smirked, "You know, if you die, you're doing yourself a favor here, you won't have to suffer from _that_." He marched towards them.

"Devour the Eight Princesses…" Shura chanted and placed a hand above her chest, "Slay the serpent!" Her sword drawn, the blade pointing at the Vatican Exorcists.

"Kirigakure, are you betraying the Order?"

"Listen here ya _shitty_ exorcist, I don't care if yer under direct orders from the Grigori, yer a rank lower than me so address me properly!" Shura spat out, "And no orders were disobeyed here, I was ordered to keep an eye on them, that also includes keeping them safe as long as the conditions still stand."

A puff of pink smoke blinded their visions, between them appeared Mephisto and a disordered Todo.

"Uh..." Todo looked side to side, seeing that they were in the middle of a fight, "Wha-what?"

In the background, both Kawanaka and Tsubaki had left their posts and decided to help their students, the news may have shocked them but they were still teachers and to them, the two didn't look as threatening as they thought, when one of them on the ground, and the other trying to help.

"Okumura-san, what's happening?" Tsubaki asked as he kneeled beside Rin, "How can I help?"

"Sideburns-sensei?" Rin choked out, he sounded a bit happy when he found his teacher wanting to help. At least not everyone is out there to kill them.

"Tsubaki-sensei, we need to keep Rin on his side so the blood in his lungs won't asphyxiate him." Yukio told him, he then returned to look at his brother, "Nii-san, try to stay conscious, can you do that?"

"Ye-yeah…" Rin was starting to slur, "I'm trying, it's hard to- "He groans, the pain throbbing in his stomach, his lungs and his limbs, "-to do it when you're body wants to-" a violent cough cut him off, his throat trying hard to clear the blood out from him.

_*Rin! Are you alright!? There's a lot of blood! Are you dying!? I don't want you to die!*_

Kuro kept mewling and Rin was groaning at him, Yukio noticed and coaxed Kuro to stay quiet.

Another person joined to help them, Todo-sensei appeared beside Yukio, a syringe already pulled out.

Back to Mephisto, he snapped his fingers and the gun and sword were replaced with candy canes, the weapons were found returned to their holster and scabbard.

"Now-now everyone." He turned to look at Shura, "Miss Kirigakure, please withdraw your blade."

Shura complied.

The Vatican exorcists dropped the candy canes, letting it clatter on the floor.

"Sir Pheles. The Vatican shall hear about this." Said the exorcist with the gun.

"Ah about that." Mephisto gave him a sharp-fanged smile, "I already reported it to the Vatican, along with the documents relating to the cat sidhe mission which involved the twins, and the school's surveillance footages."

"That's- "

"The Grigori had decided to let this little incident slide, and as it turns out, you two were ordered to check on them and apprehend them if they did have the intention to escape. But look, they're here."

"Tsk. We'll take our leave then."

And the two exorcists walked out of the cell.

Mephisto turned back to the other people in the room, Rin was between Todo and Yukio, his arms over them hoisting him to a stand since he refuses to be carried by the arms even when he's barely conscious, Kuro jumped up on Yukio's head and decided to nestle there. While the rest were waiting for his orders.

"Sir Pheles, we need to take Rin to the infirmary to let him rest and get cleaned." Todo asked.

"Oh sure." Mephisto waved a hand towards the cell's door giving them permission to leave the room. "You may leave."

The three went out. Leaving Kawanaka, Tsubaki, and Shura with Mephisto. "As you all know now, the Okumura brothers are both Satan's children, though only the older inherited the infamous blue flames you all are aware of."

"So the rumors were true?" Kawanaka realized, "Sir Pheles, why are they here?"

* * *

Todo left right after he took the two to the infirmary, he was just whisked away by Sir Pheles from his post in the Deep Keep and he shouldn't leave it with just the guards there. Minutes later, Shura went to visit them.

She was greeted by the nurse as she walked in, turning to the separated room he found Rin on the bed, wearing only his inner uniform since his blazer was stained with blood, sitting while he combed his hair with his hands in a frustrated way. Yukio sat on the chair beside him, Kuro on his lap, quietly eyeing his brother.

"So, ya guys okay?" She asked openly.

"Okay!?" Rin straightened up on the bed, "That exorcist told us to die and we just let him go!? _Demon_, yeah I'll let it slide but to tell us to _die_!? That was going too far! "

"Clearly, you're not okay." Summed Shura, she then looked over to Yukio, "Is he alright jolting up like that? He was just on the ground retching minutes ago."

"You were tracking us?"

Shura let out a sigh, "Yes, four-eyes. It's why I'm posted here instead of out in the field in a mission. Can't believe that's what got ya riled up and not what yer brother is angry about."

Rin turned to Yukio, "You're alright with being told to die!?"

"Tora-san already warned us about it, Nii-san. I actually expected them to say such things judging from how aggressive they were when they dragged us in that place." Yukio adjusted his glasses.

Rin groaned as his response and fell back on the bed, the pillow messing his hair and the sheets crumpled as he lies down. Kuro leaped from Yukio's lap to Rin's pillow, nestling just beside his head.

"We need to also expect something similar from the teachers now too." Yukio sadly told him.

"Sideburns-sensei and that Kanakawa-sensei from the third years?" guessed Rin.

Yukio nodded and corrected him, "Its Kawanaka."

"So now ya all know what happens if you do decide to go outside the academy grounds. Be careful next time boys." Shura placed her hands on her hips as she reminded them. "As for the teachers, there are already others who knew actually, they're there to help keep an eye on you two, probably one of them alerted the higher-ups about your trip to the Academy's gates."

"The others? Teachers of the cram school?"

"Uh-huh." Shura nodded. She dropped her arms to her side and pulled out a notebook from her uniform's pocket. Flipping it open, she stopped at two separate pieces of papers in the notebook. "Here. Since ye missed my class for Field Training, the Exwire Certification Exam is coming up and we'll be having some sort of Study Camp for next week. " She walked towards the two and handed it to them.

Rin sat back up again, the movement jolted Kuro to awaken and sat on the pillow instead. He read the questionnaire, it asked if he wants to participate and what meister he desires. Speaking of the exam, he remembered Homare-san mention about one, that must be what she was talking about.

"How long is the study camp?" asked Yukio, "I'm guessing it'll be at the weekend? Wouldn't it conflict with our weekly visits to the lab?"

"Two days-one night, don't worry about that, the study camp will start alongside the cram classes, so ya can still go in the morning." Shura narrowed her eyes at them, "They're not doing anything weird to ye?"

Both of them shook their heads slowly, it did not convince Shura, but to her, they looked alright, there were no traces of bruises and wounds around their arms and legs.

She looked at her phone, "There's still time for the last period, it's Nehaus', he'll be teaching summoning circles. Ye might get to see if yer fit to be a tamer…oh." She remembered what Shiro told him, "That only applies to Yukio only."

"What about me?" Rin wondered.

"It'll be best if ye won't try to, considering yer blood…" Rin looked a bit sad at what she said and then her eyes went to Kuro, "Plus ye have a familiar already, you're considered a tamer now."

"Oh yeah." Rin petted the cat beside him. "Kuro."

The nurse entered the room, a folded uniform on her hand. "Hello, sorry for the intrusion." She handed the uniform back to Rin, all dry and cleaned like it wasn't stained with blood minutes ago.

Both Rin and Yukio were surprised, the uniform was either a new one or the school had powerful laundry machines. Rin had to ask how she did it.

"We have a lot of spares for your size, Sir Pheles told me to in case something like this happens."

"O-oh…sorry for the trouble."

Yukio noticed how she address the Headmaster, "You call the Headmaster _'Sir Pheles'_? Are you an exorcist too?"

The nurse made a mental facepalm at her slip up, "Yes." She admitted. "Some of the regular school staff here are retired exorcists." Noticing the wary looks Yukio was giving her, she added, "I am also aware of your _secret_. Don't worry, I'm not going to harm you, I'm here as a nurse and will help anyone who needs it." She then gave them a warm smile.

* * *

Almost a week passed by, after a lot of headaches and nosebleeds, Rin and Kuro were able to communicate with each other without words, using signs and body languages, Yukio thought them how and told them to only use demon talk in emergencies.

Ever since the meister classes were brought up, the lessons were more focused on field related topics, and that there were supplementary classes, students of different meisters get a different subject. Students who chose Aria gets to be with Angeline-sensei and Todo-sensei, like Suguro, Shima, and Konekomaru. Tamers gets to be with Nehaus' sensei and Kirigakure-sensei, like Takara, Izumo, Moriyama, and Rin. Doctor meisters get to be with Akari-sensei and Todo-sensei like Yukio and Paku. The dragoon meister class is thought by Kirigakure-sensei so students interested gets to join the Aria class. Students with multiple meisters are allowed to alternate between classes.

Both Rin and Yukio had just returned from the laboratory, the study camp was going to start in a few minutes and they still had to pack their things.

Sorting their stuff in the room, Rin saw Shiemi from their window. She was carrying two heavy-looking bags with her, in front of her were Izumo and Paku. Rin frowned at what he saw.

"What's wrong, Nii-san?" asked Yukio who was zipping up his duffel bag, already finished packing his clothes.

"I hate how she's just following eyebrows, letting her do what she wants."

"Do you mean Izumo-san?"

Rin looked back to Yukio, "She's just bossing her around!"

Yukio gave a sad expression, "I mentioned it to Shiemi-san, but she just brushed it off and said that's what friends do, that they help each other."

"Well, that-" Rin straightened both arms towards the window "-is not helping each other! It's just Shiemi helping eyebrows!"

"You don't need to get worked up about it, Nii-san. We just got out of the lab, doesn't the wounds on your neck hurt?"

Rin rubbed the surrounding skin around where the Elixir was injected on his neck. "It kinda." He sighed, "I'm gonna take a shot at it and tell her too."

After packing their things, Rin took Kuro in his arms and they went out of their room to find the Kyoto trio in front of their door.

"Told ya they're back." Shima elbowed Konekomaru while he adjusted his glasses.

Rin beamed, "You were waiting for us?"

"Well, what does it look like?" Suguro commented, "Let's go, we only have a few minutes till the assembly."

Together they exited their dorm building. They reached their destination one minute late, their other classmates were already there, but not their teacher.

Yukio facepalmed, "As expected of Shura-san." He whispered to himself.

"Woah!"

"This looks like a haunted hotel."

The newcomers took in their place of study, Kirigakure-sensei told them the camp was held in the abandoned boys' dormitory, but they didn't expect it to be ghostly creepy and huge.

"Well, it surely is a perfect place for exorcism training."

"I agree with Okumura-kun."

Shima and Rin squinted at both Yukio and Suguro, how they're all calm and are actually excited to get in the dusty old, probably filled with all kinds of insect, building.

* * *

"Nyahahaha!" Shura happily laughed at her students' misery, lazily sitting down at the chair where she sat. Kuro next to her. "Alright, that's enough kids. Ye can take a rest now. Pass me all yer papers, we'll check that tomorrow."

Both Rin and Shima had fallen face-flat on the kitchen's long table. Both Paku and Shiemi were massaging their foreheads. Meanwhile, Yukio, Suguro, and Kamiki looked fine and then Takara had an unknown expression like they didn't just have a very hard pop quiz.

"I want to go out and get some fresh air…" Rin grumbled.

"Uh- permission _not_ granted." Kirigakure-sensei told him. "No one's going to go out of this building 'til study camp ends tomorrow, ya got that? Since we still have time till night falls, ye bunch can go pick rooms to sleep here on the first floor, then ye all can go cool off or whatever."

Kirgakure-sensei picked up their papers and went out of the kitchen.

"The first floor?" Konekomaru started, "But the first floor only has two bedrooms, the rest are the lavatory, kitchen, and the guest rooms."

"Then we'll pick between those two." Rin suggested.

"Nii-san, Miwa-san means we don't get to pick a room because one room is for ours and the other is for Shura-sensei and the girls."

Rin's smile fell down. "Then what's the point in telling us to choose?"

The students went to check on the two rooms. Everyone had a gasp of surprise escape from them.

"I think I understand why she said to choose." Rin stated, both rooms were unclean and not ready for sleeping. One room was slightly dirtier than the other, filled mostly with cobwebs and stored cartons that are obviously the room supplies and bed foams.

"Alright girls, you can keep this one." Shima thumbed at the dirtiest room and proceeded to march to the other, Suguro grabbed him by the collar and dragged him inside instead.

"Wait wait wait! Bon! There are spiders in there! " Cried Shima, "Wait is that a cockroach!? NOoOOoo!"

"Man up, Shima!" Suguro yelled from inside the room.

"What's wrong with Shima, Konekomaru?" asked a confused Rin.

Koneko sighed, "Shima's afraid of bugs." And he went inside to help too. Yukio and Takara followed suit, while Rin stopped just before entering the door when he overheard the girls talking.

"Moriyama, can you clean first? My hands are still numb from PE yesterday." Izumo was checking her nails.

Shiemi nodded happily, "Oh-okay." She held the bags she carried tighter, turning around to enter their room.

"Moriyama-you don't have to carry that if you don't want to." Paku advised, "I'll help with the cleaning too."

"Paku! No- you're coming with me. We'll take a bath together."

"Then we'll take Moriyama too, she _is_ your friend."

Shiemi popped out from the room, beaming at the two, "I-I never taken a bath with friends before!"

Izumo grabbed Paku's wrist, "Oh sorry, but I don't want you to see me naked." She then grabbed her bag from Shiemi's grasp, "A _friend_ would understand." And off the two walked towards the dorm's bathroom.

"…Okay…" Shiemi whispered to herself.

A hand patted her shoulders, which made Shiemi jump up, surprised. She turned around to see Rin.

"What are you doing?"

"Rin…" She looked at him, he was a friend too. But Kamiki Izumo would be her first female friend, and Paku too, the stuff she read from magazines that girls do when they go out together, eating sweets, chatting about clothes, baking sweets._ (AN: I don't know what Shiemi is reading lol I'm just putting words here and there ha!)_ "It's nothing Rin." She smiled sadly.

"Stop doing that!" Rin shouted.

"_That_?"

"Stop…running errands for her! It's not right!"

"I'm not running errands." Shiemi paused, "I'm helping a friend!"

"Following her around like a servant is not helping a _friend_!"

Shiemi was shocked at Rin's outburst, she frowned at him. "She's a friend too, Rin! I just wanted to be strong and help others!"

_Meow_!

Both students looked down at Kuro. A greenman was standing next to him, it was Shiemi's familiar whom she refuses to call off.

"Kuro?" Rin asked, "What's wrong?"

The cat was clawing Rin's pants and then he tapped his left paw three times, to Shiemi it looked like the cat was playing or wanted something, but to Rin, his expression darkened, "He's sensing a hostile demon around." He gasped and grabbed Shiemi's wrist, dragging her to the boy's room, "Yukio! Kuro's sensing a demon!"

* * *

Izumo sighed, getting her worries out, "I'm glad the bath is clean."

"Izumo don't you think you're being a little mean? She wanted to be friends."

"Huh?" Turning her back to her, she took off her uniform and placed it on the locker, "Well, it's her fault for going along with it. You're my only friend Paku. My best friend!" Izumo returned to face her and grabbed her hands. "I'm glad you came to the cram school with me!"

Paku gave her an unconvincing smile, "I'm barely keeping up though…" her smile slowly faded, "The truth is, I was thinking of quitting the cram school."

"What…?"

"I don't understand the lessons, and I'll just be a burden in a fight…" Paku looked away from Izumo, "I've been with you since we're small, I stuck by with you even before I could see demons, but… exorcism isn't for me." She paused to look back at her, "and I can't bear to see you making fun of people. I don't like it."

Izumo stood there, quiet, taking in the words her best friend was saying.

"Sorry. I know this is sudden. I've been wanting to tell you, but I couldn't do it." Paku gave her a sad smile, "A real friend would have. Sorry, …I-" She gasped as she saw a figure in the bathroom's door heading towards them. Pushing Izumo forward, the two fell on the tiled floor, dodging the flying figure just an inch from Paku's uniform.

The windows and mirrors of the bathtub broke into pieces as the figure crashed into it. The shards scattered around the floor.

Izumo and Paku carefully pushed themselves up, taking a look at the creature, they knew it at first glance that it was a demon. It was shaped like a huge bird, a shadowy fog-like substance oozing from its feathers, its eyes were all black with a red dot as its pupils. On its forehead was a pentagram symbol drawn.

The bird demon shook the shards off, flapping its wings and glared at the two students.

"Paku you need to run!" Izumo stood up and took her uniform from the locker, fishing out two summoning papers, she readied to call for her own familiars. "Paku, go and tell Kirigakure-sensei, I'll hold it off!"

"Are you sure!? Will your foxes be able to take it!?"

"Now, Paku!"

Paku hesitated for a second, but before running out of the room, she took one last glance at the creature and her eyes turned all black.

"Paku! What are you-!? Paku what's wrong!?" Izumo reached out to her but stopped when she remembered her situation. The bird demon! "Inari, I humbly beseech thee… to grant my request!" She called forth two white fox spirits at her side.

"You will pay, demon. Whatever you did to Paku, I-" Izumo gasped, she realized this was what Paku was avoiding, her friend is a burden in a fight, the reason for her friend quitting the cram school, was she still her friend though, she did say she didn't like people who make fun of others, like what she did to Moriyama…

_*Your wavering heart…*_

The foxes call snapped Izumo back from her thoughts.

_*…is not worthy of our aid!* _The two foxes shouted together, they jumped off the floor and tackled Izumo.

"_On basara gini hara nenhatana souka!_"(1)

Before the foxes could touch Izumo a seal barrier appeared in front of her, blocking the attacks from her own familiars.

"SEAL OF ARMORED SELF-DEFENSE!" The Kyoto trio chorused just outside the bathroom door.

"Izumo-san, rip the summoning paper!" Yukio stepped in the bathroom, a gun on hand.

Rin jumped in, Kuro on his shoulder. "Kuro, hold the demon down!" The cat nodded and leaped off from his shoulder to transform into his larger form.

The bird demon evaded Kuro, it flew sideways, hitting the walls with its large wings, shaking the whole room, the bird demon flew around Kuro, Kuro having a disadvantage due to his large form having little space to move around, and the bird flew up towards a window in the bathroom.

Yukio fired three shots, two missed and one hit its tail.

Kuro poofed back to his small form, and the room returned quietly.

"Paku! Paku, what's wrong!?" Izumo called out, she was grabbing Paku's shoulders shaking her off from her daze, but her eyes still remained black and frozen on spot.

"Oi, what's wrong with her?" asked Shima.

Yukio eyed her, "It looks like she's been influenced by the Gale demon, in other words, she's being '_haunted'_."

"How do we get her back to normal!?" Izumo asked.

"Purification." Konekomaru pointed out. "But we haven't learned any purification chants yet."

Rin joined in, "Aren't there other types of purification? Like items and herbs?"

"Yep, Rin's right, there are other types of purification." Kirigakure piped in, she had just arrived to see the commotion, Shiemi behind her panting heavily.

"Kirigakure-sensei!"

"Shura-Sensei!"

"Shura-san!"

Their teacher glared at Yukio, "That's sensei to you, four-eyes!" She observed one of her students, Paku's eyes informed her that she was indeed being haunted, a little problem, but that Gale demon's appearance was a bit concerning, she surveyed the place before and all she detected here were coal tars, goblins and spirit orbs. "Gale hauntings are harmless, it'll only give you nightmares or getting information from people."

"I know how to purify her!" Shiemi raised her hand. "Ni-chan! Give me Mari-chan!" Her greenman familiar appeared above her head, and produced rosemary herbs. She took it and walked inside the bathroom, the Kyoto trio backing a step to make room for her. (2)

But before Shiemi could reach her, Paku started to mutter.

"…I"

"…no…"

"…I don't…know…"

"…where the… son of Satan's heart…is"

"…don't know…his demon….heart…"

Shiemi reached out her hand full of rosemary and placed it beneath Paku's nose, the scent of the herb acting as the basic purification ingredient. Paku stopped her muttering, and the black ink in her eyes was slowly fading away.

Meanwhile, everyone in the room heard her. What even made it worrisome is that Satan's son whom they knew were just rumors was mentioned.

Rin, Yukio, and Shura shared the same alarmed expression.

Yukio's thoughts were pulled towards the necklace he wore, the pendant and the Kamikakushi key which hid his brother's demon heart. Why would a demon be interested in his brother's demon heart?

_'Do they want him to draw the sword? Most importantly, was this related to what the Vatican Exorcist had mentioned? That demons were becoming more active?'_

* * *

_Footnotes:_

_1 - This is the chant they used in the Impure King Arc_

_2 - I'm just picking up random herbs hehe_

_Review Responses:_

_SN22: thanks for leaving a review 3_

_IruMinO: I never really planned on Yukio's eye being found out the last chapter, but yeah I am also waiting for the canon, but if the fic would catch up to where I planned the reveal then I'll just make one up about how his power works._

_Author's Notes:_

_Uhm, so the Gale demon (from the anime) replaces the naberius here... I'm not sure about when I'll finish writing the next chapter (It'll either be this month or the next) because the holiday seasons are busy! Merry Christmas everyone!_


	13. Lights Off

**Chapter 13: Lights off**

* * *

_'thoughts'_

"dialogue"

_*demon talk/telepathy*_

* * *

Shura stepped out of the girl's room after treating Paku and let her rest after the Gale's attack. The girl wasn't in danger, but she wouldn't be able to wake up until tomorrow, so she left her with Moriyama and surrounded her with Rosemary herbs to help shake off the demon's haunting.

In the boy's room, Yukio walked out to look for their teacher and found her in the hallway walking out towards the kitchen, phone in hand. She was probably talking to the other teachers about the recent demon attack, he sighed and returned back to their room, where the Kyoto trio plus Tanaka were discussing the recent rumor being true.

"Shouldn't the study camp be postponed? What's Kirigakure-sensei doing?" Suguro asked, he then noticed Yukio by the door, "That was fast, how's Noriko-san?"

"Sensei was on the phone so I couldn't ask her."

Rin and Shima were sitting on the chairs, Suguro and Konekomaru were sitting on the edge of the right bed and Takara sat on the other one, everyone was facing each other, the topic still focused about the attack on their classmate.

"I think we should be more concerned about the rumors of Satan's son being true." Konekomaru responded to Suguro's first question. "And why the Gale attacked Noriko-san and Izumo-san in the first place. If the Gale wanted information, it could've attacked any random exorcist, but it chose our classmates, and this place specifically." He then looked at Rin and to Yukio.

"This is just a guess, but you two may be in danger."

Both twins gave each other concerned glances.

"Uhh. What-why is that, Koneko?" asked Rin who was currently petting a small-sized Kuro on his lap.

"Your dad _did_ fight Satan, but why did the king of demons show up in the first place? It must be to get _something_ here in Assiah, and with what we witnessed with the Gale attack on Noriko-san, they're looking for a demon heart."

Suguro raised his head, "Koneko might be on to something." He then looked back at Rin and Yukio, "The Paladin might have information and since lower demons can't get him, they're after the closest people around the Paladin, and that's you guys."

"Okay, who's '_they'_?" asked Shima.

"The demons, obviously." Responded Suguro.

"Maybe the Paladin was hiding Satan's son's demon heart? And some Exorcists wanted to know." Konekomaru added.

"And why would he hide the heart then?"

"Because, Shima, maybe he wanted to seal it?" Suguro stated, "Or use it? I've heard from the teacher's that the Headquarters were replicating the blue flames and that it's in the second phase of research."

"You brats keep on yapping about rumors, what are you!? Old hags in the streets who do nothing but chit-chat!? It's getting late and we need to sleep!" Takara's puppet nagged them.

Shima, who was the closest to him, leaned a bit from his chair towards him, "Can't you speak normally, Takara-san? It's creepy."

"Got a problem with it, Pink-head!?" Takara's puppet taunted.

"Uh-no." Came a short reply from Shima.

"Takara's right, it's getting late. We better fix the room and decide who gets the floor." Suguro stood up from where he sat and noticed Rin. "Oi, Okumura, your nose is bleeding!"

Everyone in the room had their attention on their classmate.

"Huh!?" Rin raised his head to Suguro, now feeling the liquid flowing out of his nostrils, "Ah… I didn't notice." He immediately put a hand over his nose in an attempt to avoid the blood spilling over his shirt and the floor.

Kuro jumped down and walked out of the room, Yukio noticed the cat and figured out that Rin might have let Kuro purposely talk to him since they all agreed to not use demon talk unless it's an emergency.

"Well, excuse me for a bit. I need to clean up." Rin stood up from his chair and walked towards the door, grabbing Yukio on his way out. "Help me out here, lil bro."

Konekomaru noticed Rin left his bag, "Okumura-san, what about your meds!?" he shouted by the door.

"It's fine, I can take it in the room." Rin shouted back, nasally.

* * *

Rin leaned over the kitchen sink, cleaning up the blood from his nose and relaxed to ease the headache he got from Kuro.

"What did Kuro say?" Asked Yukio who sat on a chair by the dining table, "It must be important for you to risk a headache."

"Kuro says he can still sense the Gale in this building." Rin stayed leaning over, back facing his twin. "And he smells other humans around us."

"Humans? Other than us?" Yukio looked around the room, "It's probably the teachers or exorcists. Shura was on the phone when I looked for her, maybe she called for assistance. If I were a teacher handling pages this many, I'll ask for help too."

"You? A teacher?" Rin turned around, "Huh? That would be scary."

"What does that mean?"

"Well, you know, your...uh… temper?" Rin's lip thinned, "I don't think you have the patience to be one?"

"Only if my students are like you, nii-san." He replied with a grunt.

Kuro, while still in his small form, stood on the floor facing the kitchen's door. His fur stood up and snarled. Yukio stood up from his chair, alarmed at the cat's behavior and cursed himself for not bringing his gun along with him.

Rin cleared his thoughts and focused on Kuro's. "Kuro, what is it?"

_*A demon is coming. It's new. Rin, Yukio stay behind me! *_

Yukio noticed his brother massaging his forehead, "What did Kuro say this time?"

"To stay back." Rin groaned. "He's sensing a new demon and its coming."

With a whip of wind, Kuro had transformed as a creature wriggled between the gaps of the door below it. From the gap, it grew as it entered the room, its scales forming around its lengthy body.

Kuro bent, ready to pounce the demon until Yukio jumped beside him and placed a hand over the cat demon's fur, "Wait! I know that demon, it's Shura's familiar."

The demon appeared to be a snake, its scales were silver-colored, and average in size.

"What!?" shouted Rin behind them.

The kitchen door slammed open and Shura stood there one arm on her hips, "Do I have to keep reminding ya four-eyes? When we're in school, ya hafta call me sensei."

Kuro realizes his mistake and transformed back. _* You were making your presence intimidating. *_

_*I was chasing away low-level demons. My brothers and sisters are on the floors above, doing the same thing. *_

_* Oh, I thought you were the Gale. *_

_* You can't distinguish its presence? *_

_* It's faint, but its around.*_

_* I see, I shall inform my brothers and sisters then. *_

"Rin, stop listening, you're gonna flood the kitchen with your blood." Yukio reminded him, Rin pulled his attention away from the demons and saw his hand full of his blood.

"Ah shit." Cussed Rin and he leaped towards the kitchen sink again, nearly tripping from the movement due to his headache still present.

Shura raised a brow at the two, "He can…?" she looked at Yukio for answers.

Yukio's eyes widened, how could he carelessly say that out loud, he nodded hesitantly, "Don't tell _them, _they're probably going to put him up with new experiments."

"How about you then?" Shura noticed Yukio fretting on his response, she sighed, "Alright, I won't ask. Oh, what did Shiro left me with?" She asked the last question to herself.

"Anyway, go back to your rooms, we'll have an activity tomorrow morning."

"What about the Gale? Kuro says it's still around."

"That's what my familiars are for, they'll be on the lookout for it. " Shura pointed a thumb behind her, "Now go. And Rin, go take your meds."

* * *

Suguro groaned, he turned to his side, adjusting to the hard wooden floor, covered in thin sheets. He and Shima were the unlucky ones who got the floor while the other four got the beds. He noticed he was sweating, and the night was quiet.

Too quiet.

He doesn't hear the sound of the electrical fan turning, and the noise of the building's ventilators. All he hears are the snores of his classmates and the occasional creaks of the floors and walls.

Suguro turned towards his make-shift bed and pushed himself up into a sitting position. He crawled over towards the desk, careful not to accidentally step on Shima next to him. He patted the floor to look for his bag and pulled out his mobile phone.

The light from his device blinded him for a second, he turned down the brightness and read the time. "3:00 AM?" He whispered.

He looked around the room, the only light from the moon lighting the place. Suguro checked the fan and saw that it was still plugged into the socket. He then tip-toed towards the door where the light switch was and decided to flip it on. Only to find out that there was no electricity in the building.

For a second he heard a faint growl outside the room. He shrugged it off, thinking it was just his mind playing tricks.

He backed away from the door and decided to wake his classmates up.

"Shima!" He whispered and shook his classmate.

Shima was starting to stir awake, Suguro checked his phone and only a minute has passed. "Shima, wake up, something's up."

"Yeah." His classmate spoke groggily, "You. You're up early."

"No. I mean something's outside, and there's no electricity, we need to wake the others and stay alert." Suguro responded.

Yukio was next to wake up, having used to respond to whatever little noise he hears had made him sensitive to sound. "Suguro-san, what is it?" He then noticed the air was still and he was starting to sweat. "Is the power down?"

"Yeah-"

They heard a door slammed outside, and multiple footsteps marching in the hallway. Everyone who was awake jolted at the violent knocks on their door.

"Hey! Open up! " Izumo shouted from the other side of the door, "There's an emergency!"

Shima immediately got up and struggled out of his covers, he grabbed the door's handle and opened it to see both Izumo and Shiemi in the doorway.

They were all surprised to see what looked like a sword in Izumo's hand.

"What seems to be the problem, my lady?"

"Can it, Shima." Izumo shoved Shima's welcoming arms aside and invited herself in, Shiemi following behind.

The noise woke up the rest of the students. Rin and Konekomaru peeked down from the top bunks to see the commotion.

"Paku and Kirigakure-sensei are missing, we tried calling them but their phones and all their belongings were left in the room. " Izumo lifted the sword up to show them, "And this was left on Sensei's bed."

Yukio notices the weapon immediately and worried, "That's Shura's _fang_, she wouldn't just leave that behind. "

"Maybe they're just in another room?" Konekomaru climbed down the top bunk and fixed his glasses, "Noriko-san was injured and needed rest."

"Then why didn't they told us?" Izumo asked haughtily.

"Izumo-san is right, they should've told us, we need to find them." Shiemi added.

"I'm going back to sleep." Everyone in the room landed their eyes on Takara's puppet facing them, while Takara himself was laid down on his bed.

"Hey look, there are lights in those buildings." Rin looked towards the window, the building around them had their outside lights on and the lamp posts were also working.

"I think the circuit for this building is down. Shima let's check the breaker, maybe some rat knocked it down." Suguro rummaged his bag and pulled out a flashlight.

"Then the rest of us can go check the rooms." Rin suggested.

Meanwhile, Shima was against going into the breaker room, which was located in the basement, "No! There's definitely a lot of creepy crawlers down there!"

"Then what do you suggest we do? Wait till the sun rises?"

"It would be best to stay close as a group." Konekomaru raised his concern, "This is an old and abandoned building, there might be low-level demons around. Also, there's that Gale."

"How about this then, we check the rooms here on the ground floor after that we can all proceed to the basement?" Yukio suggested.

"I think its okay, everyone agrees?" Suguro asked everyone in the room. Only Takara didn't since he doesn't want to get involved in their group.

The Kyoto trio and Yukio all had flashlights with them as they went out of the room, Rin had his phone and Kuro resting above his head. They accompanied the girls to their room to get their own source of light, Izumo left Shura's sword back on her bed and took her flashlight, meanwhile, Shiemi had nothing to use so Yukio gave his.

They all started to check the rooms next to them and all through the end of the hallway, they also took a peek in the kitchen but there no one was there. They stopped near the building's main door and Suguro tried to open it.

The knob turned but he couldn't push the door open. Shima and Yukio helped, thinking it was just stuck but no matter how hard they push the door won't budge.

Rin thought about the windows and tried to open them. The windows were stuck too and he even tried to knock the glass down.

"I can't believe, it looks like we're locked in." Shima panicked.

"Kuro." Rin called, "Can you try breaking the door down?"

"We're gonna get scolded after this." Suguro groaned.

Kuro transformed and charged the door, his impact brought up a barrier, making it visible to everyone and Kuro got thrown back, growling at the force.

They all gasped.

"Kuro, you can stop." Yukio ordered, "There's a barrier. We can't get out until we put it down," He scanned the walls and corners, "There's probably a magic circle or talisman around putting this up. If we can find it we'll be able to cancel the barrier."

Everyone searched the rooms near the door, they opened cabinets, lifted frames and rearranged some trinkets and furniture.

"Are you alright, Izumo-san?"

Izumo glanced at Shiemi and returned back to the furniture she was checking.

Shiemi sighed sadly at her response and proceeded to check the walls instead.

"I hate this." Kamiki grumbled.

"Huh?" Shiemi paused to look at her.

"It's nothing."

Shiemi observed her and went back to her work.

Kamiki walked towards the farthest corner of the room from Shiemi, she crouched down, checking underneath the furniture, _'I'm panicking. What if this was caused by a demon again? And I couldn't do anything to help her._' She tsked at herself.

She turned around and gasped as she saw a few little soft balls of light floating around the room.

"What the!?" Izumo flicked the tiny orbs away from her, "Spirit orbs!?"

Rin appeared at the door to the room they're checking, "Woah, they're everywhere."

Both girls looked at him and walked towards the door, Rin stepped aside to make way for them, to see more Spirit orbs floating in the building.

"Wait…does that mean, they're ghosts?" Rin asked as everyone went out of the rooms they were checking to meet up in the hallway.

"They're kind of like ghosts, the only difference is that these don't have a mind of its own, that's why they're just floating around mindlessly. They're harmless, just like coal tars. " Yukio explained, he measures one near him using his index finger, "By the size of it, these are small animals that have passed away."

"Then why did they showed up? "

"Like us, they're trapped in," Konekomaru answered.

"Since we haven't gotten anything from the rooms, why don't we continue down the basement and get the electricity back?" Suguro reminded them, "It's faster to look for the barrier's symbol when the lights are on."

Shima groaned, "Can't some of us go with you, the rest, including me, will continue to look for the barrier's symbol."

"Alright then, Shima, Koneko come with me."

"What!? I just told you that I'd be with the _rest_ to look for the barrier's symbol." Shima cried.

"His fear of bugs would be a problem if this was a mission or something." Rin whispered to Yukio.

"You know, I've been thinking, what if this was just a te-"

A loud crash of kitchen utensils cut Yukio off, everyone looked at where the Kitchen was.

Then a growling noise reverberated in the hallway coming from the direction where they were looking at, everyone pointed their flashlights.

"Wha-what was that?" Asked Shima nervously.

Yukio lifted his shirt up and took two guns from the holster no one noticed before.

"You know, you never really explained that part to us." Suguro mentioned.

"It's okay, I have a license to carry these already." Yukio aimed the guns in front of him, "And I am aiming for the Dragoon meister. Let's go."

"Wait, we- we're going to confront it?" Konekomaru asked.

"We can't get out of this building and so is _that_\- whatever was making that noise, we're trapped in along with it."

"Uh, can't we just have Kuro check it out? See if it's safe? "

"I don't think that thing making growling noises would mean safe, Koneko." Suguro replied.

Another growling noise was heard behind them, louder and closer, and it sounded like it came from the room where Shiemi and Izumo was.

"Man, this situation looks like its straight out of a horror movie." Shima laughed nervously.

"Shima, you're not helping." Rin followed up.

"Don't jinx it." Kamiki growled at him.

Then at that moment, a four-legged demon burst out of the room, destroying the door and its walls along with it.

"Darn it, Shima!" Suguro and Kamiki chorused.

"Ho-how is it my fault!?" cried Shima.

"It's a ghoul!" shouted Koneko.

Shots were fired, but the bullets didn't hit the ghoul that appeared before them. They looked behind and saw another one running fast towards them, the one Yukio was shooting at.

The other ghoul that was closer to them had started to move fast towards them too, it jumped from the ground to pounce at them.

Koneko and Suguro were faster, they finished chanting the self-defense spell and the barrier appeared in front of them, blocking the disgusting decayed limbs of the ghoul.

The barrier could only hold off a portion of the ghoul and decided to produce additional appendages, rounding the barrier and crawling its way towards Suguro and Konekomaru, ready to strike them.

"Ghoul-type demons' fatal verses are found in the Gospel of St. John!" Suguro informed everyone. Not noticing the limbs coming to get him from his side.

The jingling sound of tin echoed, a Khakkhara made its way beside Suguro and whacked the appendages. "I haven't memorized a single verse so I'll be your back-up!" Shima told them.

"Thanks, I'll try to recite all of them."

"A-all of them!?"

"I've memorized chapters one to ten, I'll recite that and you do the rest, it'll be faster this way." Koneko offered.

Meanwhile, Yukio had already wasted two magazines and the ghoul hasn't fallen down yet. He stopped to look at the damage he done.

"Why did you stop!?" Rin asked, "And how is it still standing!?" by this, Kuro aggressively hissed on the ground in his small form.

"The miasma is spreading!" Kamiki pointed out.

"My bullets are used for mock fights but still contain holy water that can take down low-level demons in one hit." Yukio dropped the empty magazines and loaded in new ones, leaving him with two magazines left."I thought hitting the ghoul would slow it down, but since it's made up of different corpses, the holy water gets scattered."

"It's getting closer!" Rin looked towards Kuro, "Kuro!"

Shiemi screamed behind them, "Miwa-san!"

Konekomaru was thrown aside and the power of the self-defense barrier weakened. Cracks had already formed from the force that the ghoul had hit it with and Shima was already exhausted. Suguro hoped that the verse was in the chapters he was reciting now that Konekomaru is down.

Shiemi needed to help them and called out Nii-chan from her kimono, "Nii-chan! I need an Una-una-kun!"

_*Niiii!*_

Her greenman appeared and summoned wooden appendages shaped like a tree's branch, it formed around the group, entangling with each other as it became a tree barricade.

This was disadvantageous to Kuro since he can't transform inside without destroying the makeshift barrier.

Everyone awed at Shiemi, but they also noticed how taxing it was to maintain it along with her familiar as she started to heave exhaustingly.

Suguro released the barrier and focused on the verses left, he was still at chapter 17 of the book when the ghoul Yukio, Rin, and Kamiki were dealing with approached the tree-barricade.

Everyone had started to cough as miasma oozed out of the bullet wounds Yukio gave the ghoul.

"Kuro!" Rin coughed, "Can you squeeze your way out here and get the ghoul away from us?"

_*I'll try Rin!*_

Rin winced, he didn't mean to hear him.

Shiemi collapsed, and the tree-barrier started to crumble.

"A-are you alright!?" Kamiki kneeled next to her. "Hey! Hang in there!"

"What about you…you're not yourself." Shiemi told her sluggishly, "You're not your…. usual self, Kamiki-san."

"Tsk!"

"Yukio, aim at the one with Suguro, Kuro will handle the other one!" Rin ordered.

"No need! You two focus on that thing!" Kamiki shouted.

Shima noticed Suguro's finger, "He's in the last chapter! " He stood on guard while he waited for the tree-barricade to give up.

Kamiki took out her summoning papers. "O Inari-no-Kami, I humbly beseech thee…!" She placed the papers on the ground facing Suguro, "Thus shall mine will be granted by Virtue of mine prayer!"

Her fox familiars appeared and both glared at Kamiki aggressively.

"You will obey me!" Kamiki ordered, and the familiars stand down at their master.

The tree-barricade had finally disappeared.

"Quaver, gently quaver… Rite of the Quavering Soul!" Kamiki shouted.

"Kuro, hold the ghoul down!" Rin asked at the same time.

Kamiki's familiars charged at the ghoul attacking Suguro, giving him time to finish the verse.

Meanwhile, Kuro had transformed and held the other ghoul down, Yukio neared them and pointed the guns at its head. The rest of the ghouls limb made its way out of Kuro's clutches and aiming directly at Yukio, Shima saw this and threw his Khakkhara at the appendage, impaling it to the ground.

Yukio emptied his guns at the ghoul, successfully exorcising the demon. While Suguro was at the last verse

"…Even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written!" Suguro shouted and the ghoul vanished into black smoke.

And the room had fallen quiet, only their heavy gasps can be heard.

"I'm exhausted. " Shima kneeled down on the floor. Kamiki and Rin followed.

Yukio looked around, to see if there are still more. He was then met with red glowing eyes at the dark end of the hallway.

Kuro, still in his large form, turned around and growled at the direction where Yukio was staring at.

A blue spark flashed from Yukio's chest, he fell back from the force of it, escaping the Gale's hypnotizing eyes.

"Yukio!"

"Okumura-san!"

"Wha!?"

The Gale flew towards them but was blocked by another ghoul that appeared out of nowhere.

"No way! Another one!?" Kamiki complained.

The ghoul trapped the Gale in its clutches and slammed it by the wall.

The Gale struggled from it while its eyes were still focused on Yukio.

"You okay?" Rin pulled him up to sit.

Shards of blue gem-like pieces fell from Yukio's shirt. "Yeah. The warding-necklace broke."

_*We…*_ The Gale cackled in a distorted voice, _*…found them.*_

The lights returned again and the barrier around the doors and windows disappeared. The Gale also disappeared but not the ghoul that trapped it.

With a puff of purple smoke, the Headmaster appeared in front of them. "Nicely done, everyone!"

"Mephisto!?"

"The Headmaster? Why is he here?"

"There's still a ghoul around!"

Mephisto snapped his fingers and the doors, floorboards, and walls opened to reveal a number of exorcists within their presence.

Paku and Shura also appeared before them.

"Yey! Congratulations, guys. You made through the test!" Paku cheered.

Everyone gave her confused expressions "Test!?"

"I had a feeling it was a test." Yukio sighed.

"Doctors, if you would kindly check our Pages." Mephisto ordered, Todo, Kawanaka, and Akari walked towards the group to check them, especially the ones who had collapsed.

"Oh… don't tell me, this is-" Rin guessed.

"That's right! This camp activity has also served as the Exwire Certification Exam!" Mephisto outstretched his arms, "I've posted these teachers everywhere to act as Judges. We tested all of you with a fine-toothed comb."

"I'll probably have to give them a minus for not realizing that the ghouls were familiars." Nehaus patted the ghoul. He released his familiar and disappeared, leaving a wooden marionette of a bird in its place. He examined the puppet and noticed the pentagram badly etched on its frame.

"Please look forward to tomorrow's announcement of who passed and who didn't!" Mephisto winked at them.

* * *

_Author's Notes: I have updated the other chapters, I've only changed some verb usages and grammar checked it online. This one took a lot longer to piece together hehe._

_Review Responses: SN22 and Aelyn, thank you for leaving a review!_


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